


At Sea

by orphan_account



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, pricefield
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-28
Updated: 2015-06-11
Packaged: 2018-03-26 03:59:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 61,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3836212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[Complete] Steampunk!era Atlantis!AU. Max must uncover the mysteries surrounding Arcadia Island while also discovering more about herself and the secrets of the sea. (features other characters from LiS)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Arcadian Origins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Learn more about Arcadia Island and its previous alliances.

**PROLOGUE: ARCADIAN ORIGINS**

_Five hundred years ago, the first settlers from the Americas traveled from the eastern coast of the Atlantic to the western borders, where they saw the vast expanse known as the Pacific Ocean. Establishing cities and towns along the coastline, a few brave adventurers journeyed out to the open waters—eventually, small islands were discovered off the coast, and mankind populated those as well._

_One island in particular was named after its founder, Arcadia, set foot on its land. She declared the island as a settlement dedicated towards the future progress of mankind, and with her resources and determination, Arcadia Island became a center of academic progress and technology advancement._

_A hundred years later, one of the lead scholars of Arcadia Island devoted himself towards discovering more about the world they lived in. Though mankind could live well on land, he wondered what lied in the sea—it was a terrain that was relatively unknown. After humanity had discovered most, if not all, the islands off the west coast, there were attempts to go farther west; all failed, with the crew returning either starved or dehydrated from days out in the pitiless sun. Despite those stories, the scholar remained determined to discover what secrets the ocean had, and he rounded up a brave crew for a great, wooden ship that would head into the unknown._

_The result was almost a disaster. Heading straight west from Arcadia Island, the ship fared well for the first few days, but the burning heat of the sun in the sky bore on their backs, and the crew began to think their journey would bear no fruit. The scholar, however, urged them to keep going, believing strongly that there was more out there; he would not falter on this mission, not when his resolve drove him so strongly. After several more days out at sea, however, the crew were at their wit's end, their water and food were gone, and the scholar felt despair begin to consume him._

_Slumped over the side of the ship, the scholar reached a shaking hand towards the waters, begging for a sign that he had not brought the crew to their own deaths, pleading that this journey had not been a waste of potential. He did not expect an answer from God, nor from the heavens, but neither did he expect an answer from the ocean itself—and the seas granted him his wish._

_Around the ship rose beings from the deep; they looked almost exactly like humankind, but their hands and feet webbed like a frog's, they had small slits on their necks that were gills, and they donned some kind of skintight suit that allowed them to swim easily through the sea. Taking pity on the wretched crew, they provided potable water and edible seafood from their own lands. The scholar could not believe what he was seeing—another race, humanoid in appearance except for their aquatic features, out here living in the ocean!_

_As the other-worldly beings took care of the crew, the scholar took to finding out more about their saviors. They called themselves 'Atlanteans', or citizens from the city of Atlantis. They had the ability to breathe on both land and in water, but they preferred water as intense heat was their weakness. What surprised him most was when they donned human clothing, they looked and passed as humans as well. Mouth agape at this newfound knowledge, the scholar pressed for more, asking more questions about the Atlanteans. He questioned their ability to speak his language, and the Atlanteans laughed—they'd been observing mankind since they'd stepped foot on the west coast of the Americas. There were even a rare few that had lived among the humans for a time, learning their language and culture, and bringing it back to Atlantis. He asked why the rest of the ships that had gone west failed to do so; the Atlanteans answered that they did not reside in the waters that the other ships traveled to, and because they wished not to intervene in mankind's matters; but they had taken pity on the scholar and his crew after seeing the his adamant determination._

_The scholar was perplexed about the Atlanteans' wish not to intervene, and he voiced his confusion aloud. The Atlanteans all exchanged looks; one of them stepped forward and admitted that mankind's technology was primitive compared to theirs, but the Atlanteans wished not to play god with mankind, instead deciding to let man progress and evolve at its own natural pace. They also mentioned something else—when they had first observed humanity on land, they had been confused as to why humans were not able to manipulate the land as easily as the Atlanteans manipulated water. The scholar watched in awe as the Atlanteans were able to summon and bend water at their will, and using their combined strength, the Atlanteans used the ocean waves to bring the ship back to land while the ship's crew cheered._

_Understanding that the Atlanteans wielded much more power than he could possibly imagine, the scholar understood why they had not wanted to play god with humanity, and was humbled at their humility and responsibility. However, with this new knowledge, the scholar saw an opportunity._

_Turning to the Atlanteans, he proposed a relationship of sorts between the two races. He offered to be an ambassador between mankind and Atlantis, to forge relations between the two and to also assist humanity with developing more advanced technologies. Though the Atlanteans hesitated, the scholar persuaded them that in return, mankind could offer knowledge of the lands, of the mountains, of the forests and jungles and tundra and deserts that existed across the mainland. The two races could help each other learn more about the other—the land and the sea, finally coming together._

_Thus, the relations between the Atlanteans and mankind was born. The Atlanteans introduced electricity, allowing mankind to work well into the night through the light of their lamps, and in return, the scholar showed the Atlanteans various paintings and artworks of foreign lands, from the colossal European castles to the sloped roofs of the Eastern nations. The Atlanteans were astonished at painting especially—underwater art was hard to produce, but seeing artwork on canvases was a marvel, and the Atlanteans sought to understand more about human art._

_Together, the two races convened at Arcadia Island, where the scholar spearheaded the efforts to integrate Atlantean technology with mankind's and where Atlantean historians led the foray into studying more of human paintings and art. Scientists and scholars from both races came to the island, and mankind was introduced into an Industrial Revolution as the combination of fire and water allowed steam energy to be harnessed on the surface, without the need for steam vents from the ocean floor. Designers and masters of any art flocked to the island as well, and the Atlanteans experienced a cultural renaissance as waterproof paintings were discovered, allowing them to bring their own visions of Atlantis and the sea to life._

_The two races worked in harmony and peace for some time, and the scholar gained worldwide fame, success, and riches as he profited from the joint technological marvels that he and the Atlanteans created._

_But the scholar found himself wanting more, and he asked the Atlanteans for permission to visit Atlantis itself. After so many years of collaboration, they agreed, and through their water manipulation, allowed the scholar to safely breathe underwater as they brought him to the city of Atlantis._

_It was more than he could have ever dreamed._

_Atlantis was a feat of Atlantean engineering. They had created several large domes that rested at the bottom of the ocean floor, powered by sea vents, whose energy was used to create electricity. Within the domes resided magnificent and grand buildings and palaces crafted carefully from marble or stone. Though the Atlanteans could breathe underwater just fine, temperature of the waters affected them just as much as temperatures on lands affect mankind. The domes served as protective air bubbles that provided not only shelter to the plant life of the sea but also gave the Atlanteans the oxygen they needed to breathe._

_The scholar was given access to the labs of Atlantis, where future wonders were being made. The Atlantean scientists introduced the scholar to their most recent marvel—an artifact that could manipulate both the seas and air, allowing the ability for any kind of travel across the ocean at anytime. At the current moment though, the scientists sadly admitted, it was difficult to control, and the power to wield the elements required an enormous amount of effort and focus from multiple Atlanteans. Intrigued by the untapped potential of this tool, the scholar asked to try it out himself—the scientists immediately denied him, citing that the instability of it could cause massive storms and hurricanes to occur if put in the wrong hands._

_After that, the Atlanteans returned the scholar back to Arcadia Island, but the scholar now realized what he wanted, what he needed to bring humanity into a new age, with him as its leader—the Atlantean tool to manipulate ocean and air. He crafted a plan to infiltrate Atlantis and take the tool as his own._

_The scholar succeeded, and once the Atlanteans learned of the betrayal of trust, all hell broke loose._

_The Atlanteans raised an offensive, intimidating force to attack the island in response. Summoning his most loyal followers, the scholar raised up his own army to defend Arcadia Island from the Atlantean assaults. War between the two races quickly shattered the progressive alliance between them, and blood spilled from both sides as the Atlanteans attempted to recover their stolen artifact._

_What the scholar had not anticipated was his inability to activate the tool itself. It was a nondescript golden sphere, but no matter which way he turned it and held it, it remained stubbornly dormant. Filled with rage and frustration, he ordered his forces to continue its defensive position until he could figure out how to unlock the power of the seas and winds for himself._

_The scholar was slipping, becoming more unstable as his fury rose with time as the artifact stayed inactive. He did not become aware that Atlanteans had infiltrated his own army, hiding among his own troops. One night, when the scholar was in a restless sleep, the Atlanteans secretly stole the artifact away, returning to the ocean from whence they came._

_The next morning, the scholar was beside himself with anger and rage at his loss. He ordered his entire army to board as many ships as possible to sail to Atlantis at once—as his fleet headed west into the ocean, storm clouds gathered on the horizon, and the sea became restless and aggressive, ocean waves slamming into the sides of each ship. Howling winds and thunderous storms, combined with the infinite strength of the sea caused each of the scholar's ships to capsize and turn, or be smashed in half as massive waves consumed them. As soon as his entire fleet was destroyed, the skies cleared and the sea calmed itself, and the scholar realized, as he clung to a raft, that the Atlanteans were using the artifact against him, preventing him from ever seeing Atlantis again._

_He returned to Arcadia Island, bitter and resentful of his loss, but nonetheless still determined to retrieve the power of the artifact. The scholar sent ship after ship after ship into the west, trying to find a way to return to Atlantis, but either the ship never returned or what few survivors that did return reported instantaneous storms and furious waves that engulfed and decimated the ship and crew. Since then, any ship that attempted to cross the West from Arcadia Island met doom and destruction._

_The scholar grew old, and despite the fact that he was beyond wealthy from his inventions and collaborations, he remained forever embittered and angered at the loss of the artifact. No one ever saw an Atlantean again after the Great Ocean War, and the scholar knew that the Atlanteans would never return to ally themselves with mankind._

_In his last few breaths, the scholar ordered his sons and daughters to carry on his legacy—to find the lost artifact and bring humanity to a golden age and let their family be the leaders of mankind._

_The scholar's name was Bartholomew Prescott._

* * *

Young Kate Marsh closed the history book she'd been reading in the dim light of the lantern on her desk.  _Prescott._  That explained so many things. Kate sat there for a moment, looking at the leather cover of the book in her hands, and she knew that the knowledge she had now would prepare her for the future.

Kate Marsh was eight years old then, and it had been roughly three hundred and fifty years since the Great Ocean War. Her training began tomorrow, and after she proved her faith, she would be granted access to everything and anyone her parents knew.

Standing up and putting the book back on the shelf, Kate picked up the lantern and stood by the window of her wooden home as it floated across a swampy lagoon; in between patches of plants and greenery, the water reflected the stars of the night sky. Just in the distance, beyond the tangles of trees and branches, Kate could make out the ocean and she breathed a wistful sigh.

_Atlantis is out there. And I'm gonna go there one day._

Gripping the cross that hung around her neck, Kate took one last look out at the sea. From afar, the light in Kate Marsh's room turned off, and the night went still.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here's my new AU! Basically a kind of steampunk!AU era with the Atlanteans thrown in (and yes...I know Atlantis should be in the Atlantic but to jazz things up I put it on the other side LOL). I picture the Atlanteans like Kaldur/Aqualad from Young Justice; I hope I described them well. I'm hoping to expand the cast of this as well (obviously starting with Kate) and make this my first huge project. If any of you are familiar with weissrabbit, hanasuku-shinjin, or mikotyzini from the RWBY fandom, they create marvelous fantasy AUs and I hope that my AUs can be like theirs in terms of fantastic-ness and awesomeness. I know, this AU looks totally crazy, but I'm grateful for anyone who reads this and enjoys it! I'll try and update weekly, btw!


	2. A Storm is Brewing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max sets off on a journey that will decide her fate.

**CHAPTER 1: A STORM IS BREWING**

Max Caulfield sat atop a crate on the main deck of a ship, a sketchbook balanced precariously on her lap as she doodled on it with her pencil. Occasionally she shifted on the wooden box, trying to prevent the angle of the sun to cause a shadow of herself to be thrown onto her work.

Her short, brown hair hung around her face as she looked intensely at the paper, and every now and then, she'd adjust the gray cardigan she wore over a loose white shirt, rolling up the sleeves to better draw. The hot summer day merited a pair of cotton shorts, but travels at sea had long taught her to get used to wearing boots day and night. The hustle and bustle of the other crewmates as they brought cargo to the hold of the ship did nothing to disturb her concentration, and the crew knew to leave her be.

At eighteen years old, Max had gained the respect of the crew ever since, at the age of sixteen, she had carefully navigated the ship through the Stone Hells, a rocky piece of the western coast that was essentially a ship graveyard, where the rocks were so jagged and randomly located that any scrape against a ship could lead to death. Max had been able to spot and predict where shards of rock might be, and after they'd successfully navigated through the Hells, the entire crew cheered for her. Her impeccable eyesight was a gift, their captain claimed, and ever since then, in thanks for saving all of their lives that day, the crew left Max to her own devices when they were on shore leave.

As of right now, their shore leave was at Arcadia Island, where Max grew up. She'd spent her time back on the island already, visiting her old friend, Kate Marsh. Max's sea travels with the crew rarely brought her back home, but when she did return, she and Kate exchanged stories—she would tell of her adventures out at sea, and Kate would tell of news of Arcadia since she'd been gone. Now though, as Max flipped her pencil around to erase a stray line, her and the crew were preparing for another bout at sea.

She glanced up for a moment, admiring the ship she was on; aptly named the  _Blackwell_ , it was a large wooden galleon that had unprecedented speed on the seas. Above her, some other crewmates were busy refitting their new sails onto the masts. She knew that once the sails were opened and were able to catch the wind, they would display a large, proud, black symbol  _B_  on a white background. Right now, the  _Blackwell_  was moored next to a wooden port, where a large plank bridge between the port and the ship allowed the crewmates to carry cargo across from land to ship.

Max felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned to see her captain, Mark Jefferson, smiling above her.

"Drawing, again, Max?" Jefferson chuckled, pulling up a crate and sitting down next to her. He was wearing his traditional long, black coat, black trousers, black boots, and white undershirt, despite the sunny day.

"It's relaxing," she smiled. Captain Jefferson had always been a kind and trusting leader, even taking her on the crew at the young age of sixteen. Her parents had been adamant about having Jefferson as her guardian and caretaker, since her father had known him from his own time at sea. Thanks to her father's and Jefferson's friendship, Max had managed to start her life on the ocean earlier than expected, and she'd enjoyed every minute of it. Seeing the world, exploring new sights—it was something she'd always dreamed of.

"Then you might want to draw in it some more," Jefferson said lightly, though the smile on his face didn't quite reach his eyes. "We're heading straight West."

Max almost dropped her pencil, shock on her face as she comprehended what Jefferson just told her.

" _What?_ We can't go West, Captain," Max said immediately, turning fully to look Jefferson in the eye. "The storms will take us out, and storms are completely different from going through a sea of rocks."

Jefferson sighed, reaching up and running a hand through his short, dark brown hair.

"I know, Max, but what we're being offered for this job is  _huge_. We'd all be set for life if we can make it through with this," he said, standing up and watching the crew go by with more cargo crates. "The Prescotts want us to deliver those crates," he continued, pointing as two crewmates carefully made their down the stairs to the hold while holding a large, wooden crate between them, "specifically on a route straight West from here. I have no idea what's in them, but whatever's in them, is worth a fortune— _if_  we deliver them."

Max bit her lip, and she felt something tugging at the back of her mind, something that warned her of the imminent danger. Like any Arcadian Islander, she'd heard the stories about how the Western seas next to Arcadia Island seemed cursed with perpetual tempests and storms. Parents liked to scare their children with stories of the Atlanteans that would come and take them away if they'd misbehaved, but some of the older folk of the island seemed adamant to claim that the Atlanteans had cursed any ship that left from Arcadia Island to go west. Of course, not like any of them had seen an Atlantean, but Max bit her lip. Myth or not, the stories of wrecked ships and lost crews were real and Max did not enjoy the thought of dying at sea.

"Captain, I really don't have a good feeling about this," she said hesitantly, getting up to stand next to her captain.

Jefferson shook his head then. "I already took the job, Max. We're gonna do it," he said, sounding determined. Turning around to face her, Jefferson placed a comforting hand on Max's shoulder.

"If you want to sit this trip out, I understand. Hayden's already backed out," and he gestured over to where Hayden was sitting on the wooden dock next to the ship; though his dark skin showed beads of sweat, Hayden looked like he was enjoying basking in the afternoon sun.  _Or I wonder if he's just enjoying his time here back at Arcadia._ Hayden had lived on this island just as long as Max had, and she didn't find it surprising that another Arcadian would feel bad about this.

"I'll go, Captain," Max found herself saying. Jefferson gave her a smile then, before walking away to assist with other matters on the ship. Picking up her leather messenger bag from next to the crate she'd been sitting on, Max put back her pencil and sketchbook back in it before deciding to take one more excursion to land before they left.

Walking across the deck, Max crossed the plank bridge down onto the docks. She made her way over to Hayden, who waved as she approached.

"There she is, the all-seeing eye," Hayden said, offering a smile.

Rolling her eyes, Max responded, "That's me alright. You look relaxed as usual, Hayden."

Hayden shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm not the one going on a one-way trip to oblivion," he said, jerking his head at the  _Blackwell._

Max sat down next to him, and the two looked out at the  _Blackwell_  and the rest of the ships moored on the docks. Most were wooden, traditional transport ships like the  _Blackwell_ , but a few ships down the docks were colossal, steam-powered ironclad ships, their metal plating glinting brightly in the sun.

"We've been through some close calls before, though, " Max pointed out, recalling their time in the Stone Hells, in the Harpy's Whirlpools, and various other drastic weather and sea conditions.

Hayden shook his head, his expression serious. "But don't you feel it, Max? This is different. We Arcadians aren't meant to go west. It's been like that for hundreds of years."

Max bit her lip. She understood completely, and the nagging, uncertain feeling in the pit of her stomach was a sure sign that something was wrong. It was the same feeling she'd had and followed when she'd navigated the crew through the Hells—it was the feeling of her gut instinct telling her not to go that way.

Pulling her knees up to her chest, Max wrapped her arms around her legs before placing her chin on top of her knees.

"I know that feeling, Hayden. But I can't leave the captain to navigate blind," she said, unsure of whether she was trying to convince herself or Hayden that she needed to go.

Hayden just shook his head again, patting Max on the back. "It was good knowing you, Caulfield. Good luck out there," he said grimly, before standing up and heading down the docks and back to the mainland.

Max sat there alone for a few more moments, hoping that that wasn't the last time she would see Hayden. Though he tended to party hard and occasionally slack off, Max knew that Hayden was a good man. And he was a seasoned sailor as well—if he was backing out of this trip, then Max knew that Hayden's belief of the cursed, western waters was real.

Since Max was absorbed in her thoughts, she didn't hear Kate's footsteps coming to a stop next to her.

"Hey, Max," Kate said timidly, giving a small smile.

"Oh, hey, Kate," Max said, standing up and brushing herself off. "Sorry I didn't notice you. I was just thinking of something."

"Looked like it. I just thought I'd come by and say bye before you leave again," Kate said, gesturing for Max to walk with her down the docks. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Max bit her lip, and then sighed. "Captain Jefferson's having us go straight west."

Kate's reaction was immediate—her expression turned terrified in a split second.

" _What?_  Max, you can't go there," Kate said quickly, immediately stopping in her tracks. Her hand reached for the cross that hung around her neck, and the other tightly gripped Max's arm.

"I know! That's what I said! But apparently the Prescotts are going to pay us a  _ton_  if we deliver their cargo," Max said, though her expression was uncertain.

"The  _Prescotts?_ " Kate squeaked, her face turning more and more frightened with each word that came from Max's mouth. "They're sending the  _Blackwell_  out there?!"

Max shifted uncomfortably, unused to seeing Kate so distressed and distraught. She'd told Kate of the numerous times that her and the crew had avoided or survived countless perils, and Kate barely seemed to react to any of those in comparison to what Max was seeing now.

"Kate, is everything okay?" Max asked, worry in her voice.

"Max, you can't go," Kate pleaded, her eyes begging. "You won't come back if you go."

"I can't leave Captain Jefferson by himself," Max said, her face pained at seeing Kate's discomfort. "He needs his best eyes on board—"

" _Max!_  You don't understand, you won't come back if you go—"

Just then, Jefferson called to Max from the quarter deck, where he stood next to the wheel of the ship.

"Max! We're settin' sail!"

Kate turned to her then, her grip on Max's arm tightening, the look in her eyes pleading, terror written all over her face.

"Please, Max—"

Max tugged her arm out of Kate's hand, trying to look as apologetic as possible. "I'll come back, Kate, don't worry."

Jefferson called once more.

"C'mon, Max!" Two crewmates waited for her on the deck of the ship, holding the small wooden bridge that connected the ship to the docks.

Max turned away from Kate, as much as she hated to do so, and ran up the bridge, jumping onto the deck just as the sails unfurled from the masts. The white cloth appeared bright against the summer sky, the bold, black,  _B_  standing out. As soon as she was safely on board, the crewmates pulled the bridge up and started moving around the ship, pulling ropes and tying knots where necessary in preparation for the voyage.

Max turned to see Kate standing forlornly on the docks, watching the ship leave the port. She gave a wave, hoping that would comfort her friend, but Kate just bit her lip and turned, darting back down the docks as fast as a rabbit.

Sighing, Max started to climb up the main mast of the ship, where the crow's nest awaited her at the top. After hopping in, Max turned back to look at Arcadia Bay once more. The docks were bustling with people, as always, ships next to their docks, prepared for their own journeys. Further ahead, within the mainland, Max saw the port turn into the town of Arcadia as it spread out into the hills, its brick buildings popping up in between the trees. To her right and left were larger hills, too steep to build on, where the flora covered them with green and brown leaves and roots. As they left the small inlet of water that served as the port area, Max hoped and prayed this wasn't the last time she would see Arcadia Island. Turning in the small space of the crow's nest, Max looked out at the great ocean before her.

Pulling out her spyglass from her bag, she gripped it tightly in her hands.

_I hope I'll come back._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is Pricefield, don't worry! But Kate and Max will have their own time as well—I love Kate so much, and her and Max's friendship is so cute and caring in game. I hope I didn't OOC Kate too much, but since we have little interactions with her in game (that isn't affected by certain events), I guess you could say I'm coming up with my own version of Kate Marsh. I wanted to upload another chapter so there's at least some story content, but from here, we'll try and keep the weekly uploads. Thanks again, for reading!


	3. Burial At Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Survive.

**CHAPTER 2: BURIAL AT SEA**

Apprehensiveness kept Max's body tense and stiff, and she repeatedly kept bringing the spyglass up to her eye to scan the horizon. Though the summer day left the skies relatively clear and cloudless, she still felt the feeling of doom approaching them. A part of her regretted not sitting out on this trip, like Hayden had done, but it was too late to think of that now. The  _Blackwell_  was a day into its voyage, with the Prescotts' cargo safely in the hold.

 _The Prescotts._  Max knew that name since the day she was born. Anyone on Arcadia Island knew of them. They were the most wealthiest, most prestigious family, and they essentially owned all economic business going to and from the island. She remembered her parents telling her that the Prescotts had once been a family of respected scholars, but after the Great Ocean War, they'd converted their influence into an economic powerhouse, using the technology they'd created to fuel their trade business. Max wasn't surprised then, that the Prescotts had offered a wealthy sum for this job.

Once they'd set sail, Max had asked Jefferson again what the cargo contained. He'd simply shrugged, saying that they'd been paid a slight up-front fee to not dig around in the crates. That struck Max as slightly suspicious, so she'd traveled down to the hold to get a look at the crates herself. She needn't have even bothered; each crate was bolted tightly shut, and even if she'd managed to find a crowbar lying around, it would've taken the strength of ten men to open one. Unable to shake the feeling that something was wrong, Max nonetheless said nothing about it to anyone, knowing that there was nothing she could do to change Jefferson's mind.

Since then, Max had kept her thoughts to herself, remaining in the crow's nest, where she could ponder her thoughts in peace as she looked out at the blue expanse around them.

The ocean surrounded them on all sides, the blue sea the only thing they could see for miles all around. Normally, Max enjoyed scenes like this—just the ocean, the ship, the skies, and her. A moment of peace, a moment to enjoy what the world offered her. Max leaned forward against the wall of the crow's nest, her arms on the edges as she gazed out at the horizon. Nothing for miles. No rocks, no whirlpools, no clouds, nothing. It was unnerving.  _Something doesn't feel right. It's…almost too calm out here._

Looking down, Max saw that Jefferson by the stern, holding onto the wheel—the wind ran through his hair, and a light smile was on his face. Max knew that Jefferson was always most at home at sea—it was like he'd been born to travel the oceans. Turning her head, Max saw the rest of the crewmates busy with the rigging on the sails. She felt a strong fondness for all of them—the crew of the Blackwell were jovial people, but hardworking when need be.

Sighing, Max straightened up, pulling out her spyglass again to do another look in all directions. As she scanned the horizon, she felt the wind abruptly change—instead of the calm breeze they'd been experiencing for the past day, the wind suddenly whipped violently against Max, and she almost fell out of the crow's nest. Heart pounding, Max held onto the railing, looking down below her to see the crew suddenly scrambling to control the sails—some were climbing the masts to ensure the proper rigging.

Max turned then, and she felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. The air that had been so mild turned freezing cold, and she looked up to see the sun suddenly covered by a multitude of dark, ominous clouds. Below, Max heard Jefferson shouting orders, but Max knew it was too late.  _The stories were real—storms that appeared from nowhere—_

Knowing that her eyes would be of no help now, Max hopped out of the crow's nest and carefully made her way down the main mast, gripping tightly to the ladder in an attempt to not be blown away by the fierce gales that howled around her. Hair whipping around her face, Max managed to get down to main deck—her whole body trembling as she saw the chaos unfurl around her. Crewmates were running this way and that, scrambling to gain control of the sails before the ship capsized from the heavy winds.

Suddenly, the entire crew looked up as they saw a flash of lightning above them—a split second later, the loud  _boom_  of thunder shook the skies, and freezing drops of rain hurled down from the heavens. The ocean waves suddenly slammed against the sides of the boat, the bitterly cold water splashing onto the deck, causing some of the crewmates to lose their footing as the ship tipped this way and that. Jefferson was still shouting, trying to retain order—

Max tried to make her way to Jefferson, her arms braced against the aggressive winds, her feet shuffling little by little in an attempt to balance on the rocking ship. Grabbing onto the railing by the edge of the ship, Max gritted her teeth— _we should have never left Arcadia—_

Out of the winds, out of the sound of crashing waves and creaking wood, Max heard Jefferson shout—

" _Hold on!"_

Max turned to see a colossal wave in front of the ship, and the ship tilted, almost vertical—gripping the railing as hard as she could, Max braced for impact. Freezing cold water collided into the deck, sending crewmates flying, some being thrown overboard as the ship threatened to capsize.

Shivering violently, Max looked up at the skies, begging, pleading, for whatever god or gods out there to save them, to stop this terrible storm— _I can't die here!_  Turning, Max saw Jefferson still standing firm by the wheel, his face hard and undaunted by the raging seas, his black coat flapping behind him, his wet hair plastered to his head as he attempted to seize back control of the ship from the sea.

" _Captain—!"_

Max's words were cut off as another wave smashed onto the main deck, and her heart stopped as she heard the splinter of wood. Looking up, Max saw the main mast cracking in half, the sails falling amidst the torrent of rain. The fall of the main mast caused the other masts to tear apart as well—and the large, white cloths fell around them, the crewmates struggling to free themselves before the next attack from the sea came—

Max took a risk and let go of the railing, trying to sprint across the main deck to Jefferson. Though she knew not how that would save her or anyone from the crew, if anyone were to get out of this alive, Jefferson had to be the one. Max saw Jefferson grit his teeth, before reluctantly letting go of the wheel—there was no more control of the ship, now that the sails were gone and the crewmates in disarray. The captain turned to see Max below him on the main deck, attempting to make it to him before the next wave—

" _Max—watch out!_ " The captain shouted above the storm, abandoning the stern and attempting to make his way down to her.

However, before he could make it to the main deck and before Max could reach the stairs that led to the stern, they both heard an explosion of thunder above them, the flash of lightning illuminating the chaos around them. Jefferson turned then, his expression turning into pure horror as he looked out to the starboard side of the ship—Max followed his gaze, and her heart froze in her chest.

An immense wave was building itself up, heading straight towards them—Jefferson and Max turned then, their eyes meeting, and time seemed to stand still, the world turning silent in the few seconds before their inevitable deaths.

Jefferson gave a small smile to Max, and a small salute, before the gigantic wave smashed into the deck, ripping the boat in half.

Seawater hurled Max off the edge of the ship, and she found herself colliding into the frigid waters. Submerged under the ocean, Max struggled to swim to the surface—but everything was so dark, so murky, so chaotic that Max couldn't even tell what was up and what was down. Any movement she made was immediately counteracted by a ferocious current of water that submerged her again and again. Attempting to orient herself, Max turned in the water, eyes squinting as she tried to make our her underwater surroundings.

Despair clung at Max's chest as she saw the wreckage of the  _Blackwell_  in front of her—its two halves sinking to the ocean depths. Knowing that the arctic waters would freeze or drown her to death, Max attempted to swim back to the surface—she ditched her messenger bag, trying to lose as much weight as possible. Though a part of her felt pained at having to lose it and everything in it, Max knew it would be a small price to pay if she could figure out a way to stay alive.

Kicking and swimming as hard as she could, Max finally broke through to the surface, drawing a gasp of air, her chest heaving as she tried to breathe. She looked around her, trying to see any other survivors, but saw only the wreckage of wood and ripped sails. Turning around, she barely had enough time to draw a gasp of air before another ocean wave came crashing down on her, plunging her back into the ocean depths.

Tossed around like a ragdoll, Max's heart hammered away in her chest, her lungs burning from the lack of oxygen.  _This is it…I'm really going to die out here…_

Unable to summon the energy to fight back, her muscles exhausted at attempting to go against the force of the currents, Max found herself sinking backwards into the ocean depths. As she sunk, Max looked upwards, and a stab of pain shot through her heart as she saw the torn sail of the  _Blackwell_ , the bold, black  _B_  crumpled in the torn cloth. A part of her reflected whether it was fitting that she would die with the first ship she'd ever sailed on, that her first and last voyages would be with the same ship. Blackness began to surround her vision, and Max lost most of the feeling in her legs and arms, the frigid waters hungrily sapping away her body warmth.

A part of her wondered, in her last few moments of consciousness, if the being floating towards her was an angel—their hair was the color of the sky, of the ocean, of her favorite color,  _blue_. Her eyes closing, Max welcomed the embrace of the heavens, and everything went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope someone caught the game reference in the title. I'm still trying to figure out how to write action scenes, so I hope I managed to keep the tension up through this chapter. Oh, and please excuse any ship terminology inaccuracies. Thanks for reading and reviewing, everyone! I really appreciate reviews! And I think I'd like to try and do two chapters a week, but I'm not sure. We'll see.


	4. Re-Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She survived--but at what cost?

**CHAPTER 3: RE-AWAKENING**

Something hot and grainy lay under Max's cheek, and she groaned, eyes tightly shut against the bright light and heat. Her entire body ached, and she lay immobile for a little while longer, wondering if she could just slip back into unconsciousness. Slowly getting the feeling back in her hands and toes, Max's fingers twitched, and she spent a few more moments testing out her toes—a quick check told her she had all of her body parts intact, which was a relief.

After ensuring that her body was fine, Max took a moment to try and sense her surroundings. All she could feel was that she was lying in the sand of a beach, as water came up to her knees every few seconds, before receding backwards and repeating the process. Slowly opening her eyes against the bright glare of the sun, Max's vision came into focus, and she saw the beach extending down from her. In the distance she could see a jungle rising into the hills, the green foliage obscuring anything farther out.

Gritting her teeth, Max brought her arms underneath her and pushed upward, her entire body protesting at the physical exertion. On her hands and knees, Max breathed heavily, her throat dry as she tried to ignore the aches and complaints that her muscles sent her.  _Well, at least I know I'm not dead_.

Turning her head, Max saw on her left the beach extending down a ways before ending at a rock face that towered into the sky. In front of her, opposite the ocean, was another dense jungle.  _Ok. Some cliff to my left, more beach to my right, and a jungle ahead of me. And I'm alone. And I don't know where I am. Great._

Max turned her body so that she was sitting in the sand, her arms behind her, supporting her as she looked out towards the ocean ahead. The waters looked calm as they came to and from the land, the soft sound of the waves reaching her ears; a startling contrast to her last experience with water.

Taking a deep breath, Max sat there for a few more minutes, collecting her thoughts.  _We'd been an entire day out from Arcadia. Where could I have possibly ended up?_  Finding the strength to stand, Max slowly stood up, her energy slowly coming back to her. Staring out at the ocean waters, for the first time in her life, she felt bitter at the vast blue before her, and a sour taste came to her mouth as she thought over her most recent memories. Where she once found beauty and freedom, she now saw desolation and destruction.  _The Blackwell's gone._

Turning away from the sea, Max tried to take a few steps to the jungle ahead of her, grimacing as her body protested.

She needn't have bothered, when someone came running out of the jungle towards her.

Looking up, Max spotted someone she knew—Warren Graham, his hair haphazard, the bag strapped around his shoulder swinging wildly at his side as he sped towards her.

Like Kate and Hayden and Max, Warren had grown up on Arcadia Island, the son of the local doctor and healer, Lily Graham. In the past few years, Warren had been an apprentice to his mother, assisting in a number of things around the island, from bandaging up injured sailors from wrecks, to giving nutrition advice to long-term seafarers, to administering poultices for the sick. So seeing him now made Max so relieved in that instant that she fell to her knees, a weak smile on her face.

" _Max!_  Thank God, I found you!" Warren cried, sprinting towards Max and immediately kneeling, rummaging in his bag. He pulled out a leather water skin, and he held it up to her to drink. Max took it gratefully, drinking it and loving the feel of the water soothing her dry throat.

"C'mon, we need to get you back to my place," Warren said, taking one of Max's arms and placing it over his shoulders, his other arm around Max's waist, and the two worked together to get Max standing again. Supporting Max, Warren led them both through the jungle. Along the way, he explained how he'd come to find her.

"You're at the northwestern part of Arcadia. Not many people usually come up here, as the town and port's down south, but get this," he breathed, shifting Max slightly to better hold her up, "Kate came running to me about an hour ago, telling me she'd seen you wash up on the shore."

Something in Max's mind registered that something seemed off about that; Kate so rarely left the marsh she lived in, as her duties with the church kept her mostly tied there. Any excursions away were either to the town to visit Max or gather supplies to bring home.  _Kate doesn't usually wander the jungles…_

Eventually, the two made it back to the main part of town. Warren quickly brought Max inside his house, where Lily Graham was waiting, preparing a cot for her to lie down in. While Warren went back outside to refill the water skin, Lily gently eased Max onto the cot, her expression concerned, worry lining her face. She looked very similar to her son—the same brown hair, the same dark brown eyes, just a little bit taller than Warren, though; however, age and the responsibility of the health of an entire island had caused permanent lines of worry to be etched into her face, but care and determination to save all people still shone brightly in her eyes.

Knowing that Max was most likely too tired to speak, Lily did the talking for her.

"We haven't seen anyone else from the  _Blackwell_  wash up on shore," she said quietly, walking around her the room and pulling out several herbs from the shelves and cabinets that lined the walls. "Or, to be accurate, we haven't seen any _thing_  from the  _Blackwell_  come back either," she continued, mashing the herbs in a small stone bowl that she took from another shelf. "I don't know what happened to you, Max, but you're lucky to have survived and lived to tell the tale."

Max grimaced in the cot, one hand clenching into a fist.  _Lucky. Right._

Warren came back then with the water skin, and Lily took it from him, carefully placing the mixture of herbs inside and shaking it thoroughly.

"You're going to need some rest—until then, we'll take care of you, Max," Lily said, sitting down on a stool next to the cot and offering a reassuring smile. Next to her, Warren nodded, giving her a thumbs-up.

Max just nodded weakly, taking the water skin and drinking from it. Drowsiness took hold of her, and Max fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Max woke up a while later, and she noticed that it was dark outside the windows—nighttime. Sitting up, Max noted that her body felt much better, more rejuvenated, and her muscles didn't protest as much at any kind of physical movement. Looking around, she saw that she was in the infirmary of the Graham household. Other empty cots lined the walls, and above the cots resided numerous cabinets and shelves that contained plants and herbs. Looking to her left, Max could make out the door that led to the exit, the windows next to the door offering a glimpse of the night outside. Looking to her right, Max saw another door—a soft, yellow light behind it and the sound of muffled voices let her know that the Grahams were on the other side.

Leaning back against the wall, Max took the time to think of the day's events. If it was even a day; Max was unsure of what day it was, and how long she must've been floating at sea. The only sense of time she had were the windows at the exit, and even then, since Max couldn't see the moon, she didn't even know what time of night it was. Looking down at her right, Max spotted a small nightstand with a lantern on top of it, a cup of water and a plate of food next to it.

Turning the lantern on, Max took her time in finishing the food she'd been offered. Though her stomach was growling, she was aware that eating too fast could make her sick, and with her already weak body, Max didn't want to take any chances.  _I've had enough near death experiences to last me a lifetime._

After she finished, she sat and looked at the warm, golden glow of the lantern for a while.  _I'm the only one who came back. Why?_   _And how?_

Her thoughts were interrupted when the door to her right opened, and Warren came in, looking lost in thought, before he saw Max sitting up and awake in her cot. His face broke into a smile then, and he hurried over.

"Glad you're awake!" Warren said, grinning. "So, thumbs-up or thumbs-down? How are you feeling?"

Max smiled back. Despite her losses, it still felt nice to see a friendly face.

"I'm feeling much better now. Thanks for the food," she said, raising her hand in a thumbs-up.

"Do you want anymore food? I can get you more water," Warren offered immediately, expression turning concerned.

"I'm fine, thanks, Warren," Max said, turning and adjusting her pillow before leaning back on it. "How long have I been out?"

Warren checked his watch. "Since noon, so about eleven hours."

"Warren, what day is it?"

"Friday."

Max bit her lip. The storm had hit them Thursday afternoon. She'd been out at sea for little less than a day—but how? The  _Blackwell_  had traveled an entire day's distance worth. Floating across the sea—there's no way she could've gotten back to the island in a shorter time than it took for the ship to get out. Something wasn't adding up.

Warren noticed her preoccupied expression and gently poked her. "Hey, earth to Max. Everything cool?"

Max took a deep breath before answering. "Yeah, it's fine. Thanks for taking care of me," she smiled tentatively at the end.

That was enough to get Warren grinning again, his expression just radiating happiness. "Doctor Graham does it again," he said, putting his hands on his hips and attempting to look majestic.

As Max rolled her eyes, Warren said, "Oh, Kate came by earlier today. She couldn't stay, but she said she was glad you're back."

Max nodded, but her response was cut short as Lily walked through the door that Warren had come through. Seeing Max awake brought a soft smile to her face, and she headed over to Max.

"Good to see you awake, Max," she said, sitting down on the stool next to the cot. "Even though your parents moved back to the mainland Americas, I've sent them word about what happened to you, and that you're doing fine."

Max nodded, grateful for Lily's kindness and thoughtfulness. "Thank you, Doctor Graham. I really appreciate everything you've done for me," she said, her voice full of gratitude.

Both Warren and Lily laughed then, and it brought a smile to Max's face; being back in a jovial, light atmosphere was really the best kind of medicine.

"It's nothing, Max. And it's what we do," Lily said softly. "Your parents are good people, Max, and so are you. We're thankful you're alive."

Warren nodded vigorously in agreement, before a spark of curiosity lit up in his eyes. "What exactly happened out there, Max? Did you guys try and go west?"

Max sighed then, her breath shaky as she recalled the events that led her here. Warren and Lily listened attentively, nodding every now and then as Max recounted how the storm had appeared out of nowhere. They must have heard that story countless times before, from other sailors that tried to head west from Arcadia and failed. Max didn't tell them of her suspicions of foul play however—she was unsure of how Kate added up into it, and she didn't want to appear crazy and paranoid too early in her recovery.

After she finished, both Warren and Lily exchanged looks.

"The Prescotts," Lily sighed. "I don't understand. They do this kind of thing every few months—hire a crew, give them cargo, and tell them to go west. Each time it's the same result."

Warren sat down at the edge of Max's bed, looking downcast. "You'd think they'd know by now that they're just sending people to their deaths, but I guess not," he said bitterly.

Everyone knew the Prescotts—and their reputation. It had never been positive, but their wealth was instrumental in maintaining their position of power on the island. The only family that even came close to the Prescotts in terms of power was the Chase family, but the two families had long been linked in an alliance that allowed the Prescotts to maintain dominance, with the Chases in a position of support in return for favors.

After that, Lily did a quick check-up on Max to ensure she was truly doing fine physically, before the Grahams left her, saying goodnight. Warren shot her one last smile before he left.

"You're gonna be just fine, Max!" he said, before closing the door on his way out.

Max was left on her cot, with the glowing lantern left as her only company. Though the Grahams' optimism had done wonders to her mood, Max still felt the nagging feeling in the back of her mind that she was missing something. She felt like she was trying to put together the pieces of puzzle without knowing what the bigger picture was, and as she turned the lantern off and settled into her cot for the night, Max tried to figure out what she  _did_  know.

Kate knew something. She just didn't know what.

The Prescotts had sent the  _Blackwell_  on a journey that they knew would be doomed.

She'd gotten back to land far too quickly. Had someone, or something brought her back?

Something stirred in Max's mind, a faint memory just on the edge of her consciousness. Max's brow furrowed as she tried to focus, to remember what had happened to her just before she'd blacked out in the ocean.

Someone had come towards her. Someone with blue hair.  _No one on the Blackwell had blue hair, though._ Instead of finding answers, Max found that she had given herself more questions. Sighing, she buried her face in her pillow.  _I can try and figure all of this out tomorrow._

And with that last thought, Max fell asleep.

* * *

The next day, Max found herself at the home of the Prescotts.

The man in front of her, sitting in the large, ornate, leather chair, his feet propped up on the intricately designed wooden desk in front of him, was testing Max's patience, but she gritted her teeth and kept silent. His light brown hair was slicked back, and his clothing was extravagant; black threads carefully sewn into delicate designs on his red coat, his black boots shining with gold clasps, his trousers made of only the finest material. In comparison, Max's shoddy cotton clothing made her look like a beggar. The man had remarked as much when she'd arrived, and she'd stiffly apologized—each word that came out of his mouth increased Max's urge to violently dropkick him, but she resisted, unwilling to test her luck of survival. The man was speaking to her now, and Max just nodded every now and then, her self-control almost at its limit.

"Yes, yes, we're sorry about your lost crew," the man drawled, waving the cigarette in his hand. "Here's some recompense, and we apologize for your losses," he continued, grabbing a piece of paper from his desk and shoving it towards Max.

Max almost stood up and kicked him in the face, but restrained herself as she reached forward and grabbed a pen from the desk, signing the paper. Here, she would agree to accept the payment from the Prescotts and would not sue nor engage in any legal action against them.  _Not like I could afford to do that anyway,_  Max thought bitterly.

The man across from her took back the paper, glanced at it, and then handed it to a servant standing close to them. "Go process this and give her the money," he said without even looking at the servant as he took another draw from his cigarette. The servant bowed and left the room.

 _Bradley Prescott._   _You're such an asshole._

Max leaned back in her wooden chair, a much less extravagant piece of furniture compared to Bradley's leather throne. Crossing her arms, Max did her best to appear stoic, trying not to notice the luxury of the room she was in. The hardwood floor looked polished and shiny, with oriental rugs and carpets here and there. Above were chandeliers of what she guessed to be diamond, the walls lined with paintings of various patriarchs and matriarchs of the Prescott family from the past years. The current leader of the Prescott family sat in front of her, uncaring and oblivious to Max's seething anger.

 _How can he just act like people didn't die out there?!_  Max took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, but Bradley took it a different way.

"Yeah, I know, the servant takes forever to do things," he huffed, pouting. "By the way," he said, tapping the end of his cigarette in an ashtray on the desk, "How old are you?"

Max said stiffly, "Eighteen, sir."

Bradley gave a short laugh. "I have a son around your age. Nathan."

Resisting the urge to scowl, Max gritted her teeth at the memory of Nathan Prescott, back in their younger school days. He'd been just as entitled, cocky, and arrogant as his father. Flaunting his prestige and status every chance he got, Max came to dislike him with a bitter passion, a dark feeling forming in the pit of her stomach every time she was reminded of the Prescotts' existence.

Not like she could say that out loud, of course.

"That's nice," Max replied curtly.

Just then, the servant returned carrying a large wooden chest in his arms.

"Your compensation, young miss," he said, bowing and placing the chest in front of Max, opening it slightly to reveal a glimpse of a pile of golden coins.

"Wonderful," Bradley blurted from his seat. "You can take your money and go now," he said, waving a hand dismissively towards Max.

Without even saying a word, Max picked up the chest in her arms— _holy shit, this thing is heavy—_ and left the room. She was escorted out of the mansion by another servant, who kindly shut the front gate behind her as she left the grounds. Though she appreciated the sudden amount of wealth in her arms, Max had not enjoyed her experience with Bradley at all, and she hoped she wouldn't see anymore of him. Max hadn't even bothered to ask him why he'd sent the  _Blackwell_  out in the first place—knowing his attitude, Max knew that he'd probably blow her off as some paranoid girl who needed to be institutionalized. Which she didn't doubt he could do, if he wanted.

As she started her walk down the long road from the gates of the Prescott Mansion to the town, Max heard the rumble of a car approaching from up ahead.  _There's only two families on this island rich enough to own a car_ —and Max guessed correctly the owner of the car as the car came into view. A large, silver 'C' was painted on the hood of the car; the car itself a sleek, black machine with tinted windows. Max automatically moved to the side of the road, clutching the chest of coins close to her chest—despite her attempts to look small and insignificant, the car slowed down in front of her, and the window closest to her rolled down.

"Look, girls, another piece of trash on the road," Victoria Chase laughed, her two friends, Taylor and Courtney joining in. Victoria's short, blonde hair shone in the sunlight, almost as bright as the devious smile on her face as she looked Max up and down.

_If Victoria wasn't so mean, I'd actually say she was pretty._

The Chases and Prescotts had always looked down on the lower classes, sneering at them and treating them like lesser beings, as they sat on their entitled pedestals of influence and wealth. It frustrated Max to no end that the people in power were a bunch of criminals, but she knew that from her position, she could do nothing about it.

"You're not even worth it," Max huffed, turning and walking away from them. Max wasn't in a good mood, and arguing with Victoria Chase right now was not a part of her day's plans. She heard Victoria and the other two laughing as they drove away, and she gritted her teeth.  _They're probably going to go visit Nathan and do what they always do, shit on other people._  She finally made it back to the main road, and from there, Max continued her walk.

Strolling the streets of Arcadia Town, Max got back to her own modest home. It was a one-room house, small, basic, and simple for someone who traveled at sea most of the time. As she entered, she placed the chest under her bed, which was in the back corner of the room, opposite the door. Across the bed was a small stove, and next to it was a cabinet and tiny fridge that could contain whatever food she stored there. Heading over to it, she opened the cabinet to see that Warren had fulfilled her request of filling it with food while she'd been out—some bread and crackers were in it. The fridge was one of her prized possessions; it had taken her several trips to save up enough money for it and the generator that powered it, but once she had, she'd gotten it immediately. Max opened it as well, and saw several meats and fruits, and she made a mental note to thank Warren later.

The only people who knew of her home were her parents and her friends here in Arcadia. Normally, either Warren or Kate would watch the place on her journeys away, but since Max had the feeling she wouldn't be up for sailing anytime in the near future, she'd decided to make her place comfortable for an extended stay.

At the foot of her bed lie a large wooden chest that basically functioned as her wardrobe, and she pulled out a spare messenger bag from it. Next to her bed was a basic desk, her guitar propped up against it, and she took from one of the drawers a sketchpad and pencil, putting them into her bag as well. On top of the desk lie most of Max's art tools; an easel, her paints, several canvases. Everything that she needed to draw, paint, or sketch was there, collected after several years of saving money.

Though Max loved her times at sea, what she loved better was to commemorate those times; an avid artist, Max loved to capture and remember the world around her. She even made some money off of her art as well, occasionally doing commissions for the people of Arcadia. Max's expression softened as she put a gentle hand on one of the canvases, enjoying the familiar feeling of the surface under her fingers.  _At least I can still paint and draw._

Max sat on her bed, glancing up at the painting on the wall that she'd done a few years ago of her parents. Max's family had spent most of her life at Arcadia Island, but after Max had left to join Jefferson on his seafaring journeys, her parents had decided to move back to the mainland, where they joined the rest of Max's relatives in goldmining. Surprisingly, her family was doing well—Max knew that if she ever needed financial assistance, she could rely on them to do so, but she rarely ever did. It made her feel responsible and more mature if she learned to live off of her own wages that she got from her voyages.

 _Well, I guess I won't have to worry about money for a while,_  Max thought as she got off her bed and pulled out the money chest that the Prescotts had given her. Opening it, the chest was filled to the brim with golden coins.  _Yup. Not gonna be worried for a while._

Throwing herself back onto her bed, Max stared up at the plain ceiling of her home. Not being at sea made her restless, but she was in no mood to return to the ocean just yet. Not when she'd lost so many people…

Closing her eyes, Max took a deep breath, trying not to remember the chaos and destruction of that day. She'd have to honor them, somehow, remember them.  _Captain Jefferson's gone, too,_  Max thought sadly, as she recalled all the good times she'd had with the  _Blackwell_  and its crew. All of them. Just…gone. And she was the only one left from that voyage.

_I won't forget the Blackwell. And I won't forget what happened that day; there has to be a reason why I'm here and they're not._

Max knew what she needed to do—she needed to go to Arcadia's church.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the lengthy descriptions, but world-building takes a lot of effort that I'm not used to lol. My headcanon Warren is...better than in-game Warren, so here's his appearance! And a small glimpse of Victoria! If you have any questions about Arcadia Island and/or anything relating to the AU thus far, I can answer them on my tumblr (same username). Thanks to everyone who's stuck it out this far!


	5. The Wandering Cross

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max visits Arcadia's floating church to meet with Kate--and to figure out what's happening.

**CHAPTER 4: THE WANDERING CROSS**

The next morning, Max prepared herself for the journey to the northeastern part of the island—where the Marshes lived. In a marsh.

Max wondered how many jokes the Marshes got when people remarked about where they lived, but then she knew that not many people made it to the Marsh home, anyway. One of Arcadia Island's tourist attractions, aside from its beaches, was its famous floating church. It was a colossal wooden structure made of twisting and gnarled branches that, by some miracle of engineering, floated on the waters of the swamp, never in the same place as the day before. Kate's ancestors had built the church to not only test their devotion to their own religion, but to test others' devoutness as well. The church became almost a pilgrimage goal—those who spent the time and energy searching for a constantly moving haven were suitably rewarded when they arrived. Later, the Marshes expanded small parts of the church to incorporate other people's religions as well, and now people from all parts of the world tried their hand to find the wandering church.

Not to say that many succeeded. The swamp itself was almost close to impossible to navigate, as everything looked the same in all directions; just water, grass, hanging vines, and trees, with barely any navigable sign posts to tell where the church had gone. Pilgrims with little knowledge of travel gave up, and only those of hardy survival instincts and strong determination ever made it to the wooden haven.

But Max knew better. Kate had told her long ago how to find the church easily—a red thread attached to the church and released into the water would tell her where to go. The thread helped to serve as an indicator of where the church had been last, and a guide to find it where it was in the present. That was the reward for those who found the church on their own—the red thread of fate would tie them inevitably to their faith, a symbol of their piety.

Max had never been particularly religious, however, which was something Kate understood well enough. That was something Max liked about Kate—that she was always open minded. Kate telling her the secret of the church had been something that she'd always been grateful for; not only would it let her visit Kate when she could, but it was also one of the reasons as to why Max's vision was so exemplary. Looking for a tiny thread amidst a tangle of branches, roots, and vines had trained her well.

So that was what Max did now, as she reached the swamp, fanning herself slightly in an attempt to resist the humidity. She got into a raft by the shore and grabbed a paddle, making her way across the waters, ducking her head every now and then to avoid the low hanging vines and branches. Her impeccable eyesight soon spotted the red thread drifting in the water, and Max followed it.

Soon enough, she spotted the colossal church in the middle of a pond, its wooden walls stretching into the sky.

Tying the raft to the wooden platform that extended out from the entrance side of the church, Max stepped onto it, glancing around. She didn't see any other rafts connected to it, except the one the Marshes used to get to back to town.

_Guess no one else is here._

Max made her way to the front door, knocking on it gently. No one answered, but it did swing open slightly, and Max poked her head inside.

Like any church, the floor plan resembled a cross, and as Max stepped inside, her vision adjusting to the dimness, she spotted down in the apse a giant wooden cross. Stepping inside and closing the door, Max looked to her right and saw the flight of stairs that led to the upper floors, where the Marshes lived.

Looking ahead again, Max walked down the central aisle, the wooden pews on her right and left extending to the walls. Several candles here and there brought some lighting to the otherwise dark room. Max wondered that it was miracle that the church—almost entirely wooden—hadn't been set on fire at least once or twice.

"Kate?" Max called softly. Hearing no response back, Max figured that the Marshes were probably still sleeping. She  _was_  here early in the morning.

Sighing, Max sat down on a pew in a center row, looking up at the giant wooden cross ahead of her. Closing her eyes, Max offered a brief prayer to the lost crew of the Blackwell.

_May they rest in peace._

After several silent moments, Max opened her eyes. She wished that someone would answer her questions, whether it be the heavens or the mortals on earth.  _The crew didn't deserve that kind of fate at sea._

She pulled out her sketchbook and wrote down all the names of the crew, with Jefferson's name last. Ripping the page out, Max stood up and made her way down to the altar in front of the cross. On it were several flowers, pictures of several deities—the Marshes prided themselves on their openness to other religions, despite the giant cross in front of the altar—a few more candles, and some other random items that Max assumed to be items similar to her own; a token of respect for the dead. Max placed the page on the altar, sadness filling her soul.

_I don't have anything to bury—but I hope this puts them to rest in some way._

Taking a deep breath, Max turned to her right and saw a door slightly ajar. She heard someone murmuring in it softly, a brief pause, before another quiet voice joined it. Frowning, Max stepped a little closer to the door, making sure not to make noise. She didn't want the Marshes to think she was some reckless intruder, after all.

Coming closer to the door, Max peeked inside. Straight in front of her, Max saw Kate crouching next to a small opening in the wooden floor, her other hand holding up a wooden panel that was attached on hinges to the opening; she was gazing into it, whispering something, too quiet for Max to hear it. Kate was wearing what she usually wore as well; the navy cardigan, the white collared shirt, the navy skirt, and Max could barely make out the golden links around her neck that showed Kate was wearing her cross as well. Breathing shallowly in the doorway, Max considered whether she should leave or interrupt. Her curiosity got the better of her though—

"Kate?" Max said, and Kate immediately whipped around, her hand dropping the panel, closing the hole that she'd been talking into.

" _Max?!"_  Kate exclaimed, and relief washed over her features as she ran over to Max for a hug.

"It's good to see you," Max said, smiling and returning the hug, but she looked around Kate at the now closed hole. "Were you talking to som—"

"No, no, I was just feeding the fish," Kate said hurriedly, giving a somewhat nervous laugh. Max frowned, but Kate guided Max out of the room and back into the main part of the church.

"I'm glad you're okay," Kate said sincerely, offering a small smile to Max. Kate hugged her again, tightly. "I'm so relieved you came back. I was so scared you weren't going to," she said, her voice sounding so small.

Max hugged her back. "I think I just got lucky," she chuckled, leaning away from Kate and seeing Kate brush away a tear from her eye.

Though Max was still curious about what Kate had been doing, she didn't press the issue.  _If she'd been talking to someone, that means they'd have to be underneath the church…in the water._ Max shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. She had enough questions on her mind that adding anymore was just going to hurt her brain, and Kate looked so fragile and relieved at Max's return that Max felt terrible at the thought of pushing Kate for information.

"And thanks for telling Warren to come get me," Max said, sitting down on a pew. Kate joined her, and they both looked up again at the giant wooden cross. "You and Warren totally saved my life. I owe both of you guys a lot," Max continued, wondering if some heavenly spirit had enforced some kind of divine intervention to save her life.

"I'm just glad you came back," Kate said lightly, leaning back against the pew, her hands clasped in her lap. "I was actually going to go visit you today. What brings you all the way out here, Max?"

Max sighed, and she looked down at her feet, crossing her arms.

"Kate, I'm the only one who came back," she said quietly, and Kate noticed the sadness in her voice. "I just…thought I might try and pay my respects to everyone who got lost," she said, her voice almost inaudible by the end.

Kate put a hand gently on Max's shoulder.

"I'm sure they're at peace now, Max," Kate said softly.

The two sat in silence for a moment.

"Kate, this is going to sound so weird, but I'm trying to figure out what happened to me," Max said, her voice a little stronger now. "The  _Blackwell_  was sent west for a reason—and I think I came back for a reason, too."

Kate just nodded as Max continued.

"I think the Prescotts knew we were sailing into destruction," Max said, her hands clenching into fists. "And…I think someone saved me out there, Kate." She almost hesitated saying her next few words, unsure if she was going to sound crazy.

"Someone with blue hair—I think they pulled me out of the water and got me back to Arcadia Island. I don't know how, or why, but I feel like…there's something bigger happening," Max breathed, turning to look at Kate. "The Prescotts, the Blackwell, the western seas—something's happening."

Kate's lips were pursed, and she looked deep in thought for a moment before she responded.

"I believe there's a plan for everyone," Kate said carefully. "I don't think everyone knows what their plan is yet though, Max. Maybe you'll find yours in time, and all this mystery is just a part of it."

Max sighed, but nodded. "Does it have to be a mystery, though?"

Kate laughed in response, which brought a smile to Max's face; being around her friend again made her feel a little lighter, and after that, Kate and Max took to eating breakfast together, where they discussed her visit to the Prescott house, and Kate spoke about her preparations for the upcoming Everyday Scholars Festival.

Each year, in celebration of the day when the island's founder, Arcadia, stepped foot on its sandy shores, the Arcadians got together for a time of merriment and joy. There, exhibitions of the newest scientific wonders and greatest pieces of art would be presented alongside several other fun attractions, akin to a carnival.

Kate's family regularly helped to set up the booths and various other fun games at the fair; most notably, her and her sisters were famous for setting up the raft races, a time of such serious and intense betting and gambling that some Arcadians liked to joke that a part of the Arcadian economy came from the races themselves.

After they'd spent some time together, Max said goodbye to Kate and headed back to town.

By now, it was late afternoon, and as Max walked back to her home, she wondered about which direction her life was going now.

_If there's a plan for me, what is it? And how do I find it?_

More questions than answers seem to await Max, regardless of how much effort she put into finding out more. And there  _was_  more out there, Max knew it. She just wished she knew where to look.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! Now that I've established the setting and characters a little bit, the chapters won't be as long and heavy lol. Getting more practice writing settings and descriptions. Thanks to everyone who's read so far. Please let me know if there's anything that can be clarified, or written better.


	6. Flying Colors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taking some time out of her day for herself, Max wonders what fate has in store for her.

**CHAPTER 5: FLYING COLORS**

That night, in an attempt to ease her stress, Max decided to grab her painting tools and head down to the beach for a nice, peaceful, art session by herself. She loved painting the ocean, or the docks—anything close to the sea was beautiful to paint, and Max always found it relaxing to just paint her worries away.

After borrowing a wagon from her neighbors, Max put all her painting supplies in it, and before leaving the house, grabbed a lantern that lit the way down to the beach. The walk there was relatively calm; it was only when she reached the pier, with its long line of taverns, did she hear the bursts of laughter and clinking of glasses. Rolling her eyes, Max headed to the right, down to the beach. Only at night did the sailors and seafarers party hard at the local taverns, where merry music was played and strangers danced with each other until dawn.

Rolling her wagon close to where the waves pulled back and forth, Max grabbed an easel and walked forward into the water until it came up to just past her ankles. Pondering for a moment, Max decided to paint the pier and docks on her left, so she planted her easel into the wet sand, the cool, evening water lapping at its wooden legs. Whenever Max painted the ocean or anything near it, she enjoyed being in it as well, as the contact with the water was somehow strangely calming.

Taking off her boots and placing them in the wagon, Max's mind went through the standard process of how she would paint the night scene of the pier. Grabbing a stool and her paints and brushes from the wagon, Max walked back to her easel and prepared it. As she sat down in the stool and hung up the lantern on a pole next to the easel, Max looked to her right, watching the dark sea expand ahead of her and into the horizon, where it reflected the constellations above. To her left lay the beach, its sands a silvery gray in the moonlight. Ahead of her, Max gazed over the golden lights of the taverns, and the small, moving, yellow spots that were sailors holding lanterns on the docks, making their way back to their own ships.

Looking down, Max watched the water run over her feet, before pulling back into the sea. Small bits of white foam and seaweed occasionally touched gently at her ankles, before returning to the ocean from whence it came.

_This is the ocean that I like the best. So calm and peaceful, it's like it's telling me that everything's going to be okay._

Taking a deep breath, Max began to paint, every now and then glancing over the easel to get a better look at the pier. She was thankful that at night, the beaches were deserted—most likely because most of the islanders headed either home or to the bars and taverns for the evening, cooling off from a long day's work. After some time, she'd blocked out most of the scene in front of her, and she sat back with a contented sigh.

_Damn, I really needed this._  She could feel the tenseness that had been in her body since the incident start to leave, her muscles beginning to relax slightly as she painted away. As Max reached forward to switch her current brush for a new one, she fumbled for a split second—and dropped the one she was holding, straight into the water.

Before she could reach down and pick it up, the water carried the brush away, back into the black expanse of the sea.

_And, just like that, moment ruined._

Giving an exasperated sigh, Max just looked up into the heavens, where the stars twinkled above her.

"Are you cereal? You can't just cut me a break, for once?" Max muttered, wondering which godly being had decided to fuck around with her now. She held her face in her hands, breathing in and out.  _Well, it could be worse._

Closing her eyes for just a moment, Max listened to the sound of the waves against the shore, felt the light breeze brush past her, heard the boisterous laughs that came from the pier.  _Maybe I should just take a break for now, and finish the painting later._

Just then, Max felt something smack against the side of her head and something else land into her lap, and she jerked her head up, looking around.

_What the fu—_

_My brush?_

In her lap was her brush, though soaked from its brief time in the sea. She managed to glance down in time to see the object that had hit her head—a small branch, before it floated back out with the waves.

_What the hell? Did someone throw this?_

Standing up off the stool, Max took a few steps into the water, gripping the brush in her hand as she tried to squint in the darkness. Her lantern only lit up a small area around the easel, and the moonlight, though it did provide some illumination to the dark sea, made it difficult for Max to figure out if someone else was there with her.

"Hello?" Max called out.

No response, and Max couldn't see anyone—or anything—out on the dark sea.

"Is someone there?" She said louder, walking forward until the water was up to her knees. Though Max had superior vision during the day, at night, she was as blind as the rest of humanity. Squinting harder into the dark sea, Max couldn't shake off the unnerving feeling that she was being watched…

Shaking her head, Max headed back to her painting.  _Maybe I'm just tired as hell._   _It's been a rough few days._

As she gathered up her things and placed them back in the wagon, Max stood in the sand of the beach for a second, her toes curling into the fine grain.

Or  _maybe I'm going crazy, and I drank too much seawater or something when I was out there._

Taking a deep breath, Max wheeled the wagon off the beach, heading back for her home.

* * *

After she wheeled her tools and incomplete painting into her house, Max decided to head back down to the pier for some more downtime. As she walked along the pier, she considered going inside one of the pubs or taverns and just drinking herself into oblivion, but she thought otherwise. She had the slight feeling that the Grahams would probably reprimand her for doing that, so soon after her recovery, even though she felt fine now.

_I don't understand anything that's happening. I just need answers,_  Max thought, frustrated. Flying brushes, random storms. She felt like she was in one of those fictional tales she'd read and heard of as a kid. Except this time, Max didn't feel like an adventurous hero. She just felt like a lost child, grasping at nothing.

She heard a jovial voice call from one of the tavern doors, "Hey, Max!"

Looking up, Max saw Hayden's grinning face, a glass of beer in his hand.

"Hi, Hayden," Max smiled.  _Well, at least there's one other person from the Blackwell who's here too._

Hayden came forward—a little bit uncertain on his feet—before wrapping Max in a one-armed hug.

"Heard about the  _Blackwell_ ," he said seriously, taking a swig of beer. "I'm sorry, Max," he said softly, pulling away and clapping his free hand on Max's shoulder.

"Thanks, Hayden," Max said. "I'm glad to see you though. At least one other person remembers the  _Blackwell_."

"Always, Max," Hayden said, his speech slightly slurred, and Max wondered just how much he'd been drinking. And then she wondered if he was drinking because of the loss of the  _Blackwell —_ Hayden had been good friends with most, if not all, of the crew. Losing all of them must've been tough on him as well. Pity filled her heart at that moment, and she gave Hayden a soft, gentle hug.

"Take care of yourself, okay?" She said, leaning back and tapping the glass of beer in his hand.

He just gave her a drunken grin. "You too. See you around, Max," Hayden said, giving a tiny salute before heading back into the tavern.

_Oh, poor Hayden. I guess we're both kind of lost souls now._  That reminded Max that she would need to find a new ship to work on; in time though. She wasn't sure if she was over the loss of the Blackwell just yet.

As Max walked down the pier, her hands in the pockets of her shorts, Max wondered if the world was planning something big for her, and if so, why? She stopped at the dock where the  _Blackwell_  had been docked just a few days ago; another ship had already taken its place, and Max thought wistfully back to the day that these crazy events had began.  _Whatever the world has in store for me, I hope something good comes out of it_.

Turning, Max saw a small band setting up outside on the pier, prepared to entertain some of the tavern guests for the night. She saw one carrying a flute, another carrying a guitar, another carrying a set of drums, and another carrying a ukulele.

Gravitating towards them, the guitar player noticed Max looking. "Hullo there, young lass," she said, winking. "You play?" She offered her guitar to Max, smiling. "Ya look like ya can use some good tunes, girl."

Max's expression softened—it'd been some time since she'd played guitar, but some of the memories of how to play came to her mind as she reached out and gently took the guitar. Sitting down on one of the crates, the other musicians looked at her expectantly.

"Start playin', and we'll go along with ya," the drum player said, a happy grin on his face. The guitar player sat down next to her, nodding. "Ya can do it," she said, and Max felt their optimism, their positivity lifting her spirits.

Max began to strum the strings, and the other musicians began to join in when they got the feel for Max's melody. The soft tune played in the night, and various people came out of the taverns to sit and listen.

The fine arts and music had always been a part of Max's very being—and she recalled her times on the deck of the  _Blackwell_ , where she'd played some tunes for the crew. Her heart ached slightly, but the musicians she was with right now looked so serene and tranquil that Max felt herself begin to relax, her shoulders loosening up under the sound of music.

_Despite all the chaos and bullshit that's happened to me, at least I have moments like these to look back on._

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hayden come out as well—and she wasn't sure if was just imagining it, but she saw Hayden reach up and wipe away a tear from his eye.

_Everything happens for a reason. We just have to find out why._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like Hayden, as you guys can see. I don't think he's a bad guy, in-game. And sorry for the short chapters; I just wanted to give some less world-building chapters and more of Max-oriented chapters and her interactions with the people of Arcadia Island. Two chapters today because they're pretty short. Next week is pretty hectic for me, so I'm not sure when I'll upload. Thanks for sticking it out, and thanks for the reviews!


	7. Still Waters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A surprise meeting from a stranger brings Max a new perspective on her reality.

**CHAPTER 6: STILL WATERS**

Waking up one morning, Max slowly sat up from her bed, rubbing her eyes and yawning. Following the Grahams' advice, Max had spent the last few days just catching up on rest and relaxation time, like hanging out and playing music at the local taverns (and making sure Hayden didn't drink himself into oblivion), helping the Grahams on their daily routines throughout the island, or gaining a few coins from helping load cargo for some of the ships down by the pier.

Today, though, Max felt like doing something different. Despite the fact that she wasn't quite yet prepared to go back out to sea on a voyage, she did feel like going into the waters again. As she prepared for the day, Max was eager to head out to one of her favorite places on the island—a small, secret cave that only was known only to her.

The cave itself had an entrance obscured by plants and bushes, and inside was a small pool that eventually led out, through a short tunnel, to the sea. The cave's roof had a single large opening that allowed sunlight to shine down into the pool, illuminating it and bringing it a bright, brilliant, blue hue. It was one of the most tranquil and peaceful places Max knew of on the island, where it was just her and the water.

As she made her way to the entrance, pushing aside branches and vines, Max breathed a contented sigh as she walked into the cave; the small pool was surrounded by soft, cool sand, and the afternoon sun shone brightly through the open ceiling. Putting her stuff down near some rocks close the cave wall, Max glanced up to see a few crabs scuttling away and back into the water, most likely intending to head back to the great ocean, and a small smile came to her face.  _Even the sealife like this place._

Taking off her boots, Max took a few steps into the sand, enjoying the feeling of the grain between her toes. With the brilliant rays of light from the sun, Max looked into the pool and was able to see clearly to its shallow bottom. The light reflected off and in the water in shimmering patterns, and Max stood there transfixed at the wondrous sight.  _I can't believe I haven't painted this place yet._

Breathing deeply, Max tasted the light, salty, ocean air, and for the first time in a while, Max felt at peace.  _The Blackwell may be gone, but I guess there's always a future to look forward to._

With just her shirt and shorts, Max took a few running steps into the water before diving in. The rush of water flowed past her, cool and welcoming. Smoothly gliding through to the bottom, Max gently oriented herself so her feet touched the sandy floor. Looking up, she saw the sun glistening above her, the sunbeams breaking apart and shining through the surface of the water. Kicking upwards, Max broke through to the surface, taking a breath of cool air.

Lying back and floating spread-eagled on the surface of the pool, Max gave a contented sigh, drifting along in the water. Closing her eyes, Max felt the warm heat of the sun on her face and the cool water around her body.

_This…is totally awesome._

She wasn't sure how long she must've drifted in the water until she heard a splash next to her—followed by a spray of water on her face.

Sputtering, Max immediately jerked forward, scrambling in the water for a second before wiping the water from eyes and looking around.

_Is someone else here?!_

Breathing heavily, Max twisted and turned in the water, looking around—there didn't seem to be anyone else—

Until she heard a cheerful voice behind her.

"Hey!"

Whipping around, Max came face to face with a grinning, blue-haired girl, who looked to be the same age, her youthfulness clear from the energy in her cheerful expression. Max's breath caught in her throat as she gazed at the stranger; the girl was incredibly  _beautiful_ , her radiant smile almost as bright as the sun's rays that reflected off of her sky-blue hair, and her  _eyes_ —they were the same color, a light and bright blue.

She managed to take her face off the girl's face for a moment and glancing down, Max's eyes widened. Though they water came up to their necks, Max could see clearly the small slits on the side of her neck— _gills._  Max's eyes darted to the girl's hands and feet—and saw they were webbed.

" _Holy shit,"_  Max managed to choke out before immediately turning around and swimming as fast as she could back to the edge of the pool.

_That—that was an Atlantea—_

"Hey,  _wait_!"

She heard the girl call from behind her, and Max strained her muscles to move faster as she hurriedly dragged herself from the water and into the sand.

Max didn't bother turning around—she just tried to sprint as fast as she could towards her things, silently cursing herself for putting her stuff so far away from the pool—before she felt a body collide into her back, and they both hit the sand, hard.

_Shit, shit, sh—_

Terrified out of her mind, Max could feel her heart hammering in her chest, and she tried to squirm out from the girl's tight bear hug around her.  _Oh my Lord, oh my Go—_

Max felt the Atleantean girl straddle her waist before grabbing both of Max's wrists and turning her onto her back. Heart pounding in her chest, Max stopped struggling and just prayed that these weren't her last moments; the girl was pressing Max's arms down into the sand, intensely gazing down into Max's eyes, the girl's blue hair hanging low around her face. Max just stared back, meeting those blue eyes again—and something flickered in her memory.

"Just…just wait a second, alright?" The girl huffed.

Max could still feel the adrenalin rush through her body, but was unable to find her voice, and instead she swallowed, never looking away from the girl's face. Though she tried not to, Max could feel her body trembling, her heart hammering, her mind in a frenzy as it tried to comprehend what was happening. Despite the precarious situation she was in, Max became painfully aware of her position beneath—as much as she hated to admit it—a really pretty girl, and she felt the heat rise to her face.

The stranger gave a short laugh then, noticing Max's speechlessness.

"I just…wanted to give you back your bag," she said breathlessly, and Max glanced down from the girls' face and managed to take a good look at what the girl was wearing.

Across the girl's shoulder was slung the strap to her messenger bag—the one she'd abandoned to the sea all those days ago. All that the girl had on for clothing was a tight pair of black shorts, and what looked to be a close-fitting black vest, leaving her noticeably toned arms exposed. Max's eyes widened slightly at the intricate and detailed tattoo sleeve on the girl's right arm; a twist of black lines intermingled with the faint colors of white ribbons, stretching from her shoulder to just above her wrist.

"I didn't mean to scare you, sorry," the girl said apologetically, taking her hands off of Max's arms and reaching up to take off the bag slung around her shoulder. "I thought you might've gotten tired of losing things, so I wanted to bring this to you."

The way the girl said that last thing made Max look at her closely—she really  _had_  lost a lot of things lately. Like the  _Blackwell_ …her paintbrush…

"You…you're the one who saved me," Max whispered, realizing dawning on her face. The blue hair. This girl had saved her.  _An Atlantean_ … _saved me._

The girl paused then, holding Max's drenched bag in her hands for a moment.

"Yeah. I did," she admitted, glancing down at Max.

" _Why?"_

The girl looked uncomfortable at that question, and she got up off of Max, extending a hand down to her. Max hesitated, unsure if she should accept the offer for help, but nonetheless reached out for it anyway.  _It doesn't seem like she wants me dead._

Placing her hand in the girl's hand, the girl brought her up easily; the moment Max was back on her feet though, she took a few steps away, trying to brush off the wet sand on her clothes. Her eyes never left the girl's face though—there was still a little bit of uncertainty in fear in Max's heart at seeing this unknown stranger come to her from seemingly nowhere.

_But…she saved me. Why?_

The girl breathed a sigh, putting Max's bag on the ground and placing her hands behind her head.

"Oh, this is gonna be hard to explain," she said, biting her lip. "I'm Chloe, by the way."

_This is crazy. No one's seen an Atlantean for like, almost four hundred years. And yet here I am, talking to one._

_But…Okay, if I'm going crazy, I might as well go all the way._

"I'm…Max," Max said slowly, taking another step back. Despite the initial shock, Max couldn't help but notice just how  _beautiful_  Chloe was, and her breath caught in her throat again. That color of blue in her hair and eyes—it was Max's favorite color. Max wondered what kind of game destiny was playing; her savior, a gorgeous Atlantean, standing in front of her now.

"Yeah, I know," Chloe said, turning to look Max in the eye. Noticing Max's surprised expression, Chloe sat down in the sand, crossing her legs.

"I've seen you paint, and the drawings in your sketchbook are really cool too," she said, running a finger in the sand, creating small patterns. "You're really good at that kind of stuff," Chloe said, looking up and giving a small smile.

Despite Chloe's friendly persona, Max noticed how Chloe had avoided her question. And a part of her wasn't sure if she should feel unnerved at how Chloe knew of her artistic ability or whether she should feel complimented from Chloe's remarks.

"I don't think that's the reason why you saved me, though," Max said carefully, sitting down a few feet away from Chloe, making sure to maintain her distance.

Chloe gave a short laugh then, shaking her head. "Damn. She wasn't kidding when she told me you were perceptive."

Max raised an eyebrow. "She?"

Leaning back onto her hands, Chloe looked up through the open ceiling, squinting at the sun.

"Please don't hate on her for this, but Kate Marsh? I know her too," Chloe said.

_Wait, Kate?_

Suddenly, the pieces seemed to fall together. Kate, talking to someone underneath her house. Kate, trying to warn Max about not going to sea.  _Kate knows about the Atlanteans—and she knew—_

"Kate wanted us to save you. Said that you were her best friend," Chloe continued, drawing more intricate swirls in the sand, not meeting Max's eye. "Normally we don't do that but…" She hesitated before saying her next few words. "I just…wanted to get to know more about you, too."

Max just sat there, speechless. Chloe didn't notice, and she kept on speaking.

"I see you paint when you come down to the beach sometimes," she said quietly, resting her head on one hand, her elbow placed on top of her knee. "And when I got your bag, your sketchbook was all wet and stuff, but I could still see your sketches. They're really pretty."

Max held her head in her hands, trying to comprehend what Chloe was telling her. In a daze, Max felt a slight hint of amusement as she thought about how Chloe must've thrown back her brush that night that she'd gone to paint. Chloe had been the one to grab her from the sea as she'd sunk through the water. Chloe had been watching over her the entire time.

"And then down at the pier, you played that…guitar, I think it's called? Either way, it sounded really nice," Chloe continued, oblivious to Max's sudden wave of realizations. "You do all of these beautiful things. It kinda felt wrong for the world to lose someone like you."

Closing her eyes, Max didn't say anything, her face in her hands as she breathed slowly, in and out, trying to control the emotional turmoil brewing in her chest.

Chloe seemed to notice Max's need for space, and she too stayed quiet for a time, letting Max think things over.

Kate knew about the Atlanteans. Hell, Kate talked to the Atlanteans. How was Kate related to them? It'd been hundreds of years since the Great Ocean War.  _How long has Kate hidden that from me?_

And then there was Chloe. Chloe had saved Max. The only reason why she was alive now was because Chloe and Kate had their own reasons as to why she should be alive.  _This answers…some of my questions. But not all of them._

There was still one question Max had that Chloe hadn't answered.

"Why…are you here?" Max asked, looking up. Their eyes met for a moment before Chloe looked away, hesitation across her face. "Like, why not just drop the bag somewhere and wait for me to find it? Why come in person?"

"Kate told me it'd be a bad idea to come meet you," Chloe confessed, biting her lip and looking at Max again. "I didn't know you'd freak out so bad. I probably should've planned this better," she said, laughing.

"Yeah, you should've," Max muttered, and despite being a distance away, Chloe heard her comment and laughed again, a light sound that filled the cave.

"I see the Marshes so often, I just kind of forget that other humans aren't like them," Chloe said, lying down in the sand, her hands behind her head again as she gazed upwards.

Max noticed how Chloe had the tendency to avoid answering her questions, and she wondered if the girl across from her was trying to ignore the huge elephant in the room as well.  _Chloe's been watching me._  Max shivered, recalling all the times she'd felt like someone was watching her.  _And…an Atlantean, no less. A human and an Atlantean, meeting again. This feels so surreal._

After a moment of silence, Chloe blurted, "I just wanted to meet you."

Disbelief crossed Max's face, before it was replaced with incredulousness. "You wanted to meet me," Max said flatly, standing up and walking over to the water, crossing her arms as she looked down at the pool.  _I'm a literal nobody. Out of all the people on this island, this Atlantean literally chooses me to watch._   _That…sounds like bullshit._

"Atlanteans and humans haven't met for almost four hundred years," Max said softly, turning around and looking at the ground, unable to believe that she was special in some way. "And you try and convince me that, aside from Kate, the first meeting between these two races is because you just wanted to meet me," she finished quietly, not looking Chloe in the eye.

Chloe stood up then, hands on her hips as she too looked at the ground. Taking a deep breath, Chloe picked up Max's bag and walked over to her, dropping the bag in front of her before taking a few steps into the water.

"Seems like you don't wanna meet me," Chloe said curtly, her face inscrutable. "I get it."

Something shot through Max's heart then—panic—and she instinctively reached out and grabbed Chloe's arm.

"Wait," she breathed, and Chloe turned then, her blue eyes gazing into her, and Max almost stopped breathing again as she looked back into the color of the sky.  _God. The way she looks at me—it feels like she's looking into my soul._ They stood there for a moment, just looking at each other, before Max suddenly remembered her hand was on Chloe's arm, and she hastily let go, taking a step back.

"I'm sorry," Max said softly, and for some reason that she couldn't understand, she felt a twinge of regret. Her harshness was unjustified; Chloe had saved her life. "I'm just…a nobody. I just can't understand why  _me_."

"I don't think you're a nobody," Chloe said immediately, stepping in front of Max. The distance between them was just a few inches, and Max looked up, her face close to Chloe's. This time, Max didn't move away.

"You do all these beautiful things. You make these really cool drawings and paintings," Chloe continued, never looking away from Max as her voice got stronger. "I haven't seen any other humans on this island that can do what you do."

For a moment, it looked like Chloe was struggling to find the right words. "Your art just…feels so much more alive, than the other pieces of art I've seen."

Max felt the heat rise to her face; no one had ever complimented her like that before. And coming from an Atlantean, it made Max feel a little special.  _And…Chloe did save my life. And she brought my bag back…And she's been friendly so far._

"That's…quite flattering," Max chuckled, looking away and picking up her dropped bag, putting it over her shoulder.

"And…thank you," Max said sincerely, turning back to Chloe, who looked surprised at Max's sudden gratitude.

"Um, yeah, since it was kind of in the water for a long time, your sketchbook's pretty beat up, but your spyglass is still there," Chloe rambled, a slight hint of pink on her face.

Max pulled out her sketchbook and noted the soaked pages, but nonetheless walked to a sunny spot in the sand, and kneeling down, spread her sketchbook open on it.  _The pages will be all wrinkled, and the sketches are a bit faded, but at least I have it back._  Pulling out the rest of the items in her bag, Max placed them all carefully in the sun before putting her bag close by.  _It's nice to have at least one thing from that day._

Chloe seemed to have followed her, looking embarrassed. "I guess I should've figured out how to keep your stuff dry," she said, giving a nervous laugh.

"It's fine. We can just dry my stuff out," Max said, and it was only a second later that she realized she'd said 'we.' Blushing, Max stood up again, facing Chloe.

"I brought a spare sketchbook, if you wanna see that," Max said, sounding a little hopeful.  _I should do something in return. She saved my life._  And maybe it was something about the thrill of being with someone new, or of someone who seemed to understand her, but Max felt unwilling to part from Chloe's company just yet.

Chloe's face lit up almost instantly. "Hell yeah, that'd be cool!"

After making her way to her stuff and grabbing her pencil and sketchbook, Max sat back down in the sand, Chloe sitting down next to her. Max noticed that Chloe kept her distance; they were never touching, but they were close enough that Chloe could see Max's carefully drawn lines and shapes.

While Max showed Chloe some of her sketches from the past couple days, Chloe looked on curiously. Max pointed out the drawing she had of Warren basking in the sunlight, his mother standing disapprovingly at his side; Chloe had laughed then, a bright and cheerful sound that made Max smile. Max pointed out some more drawings she'd done of Arcadians, of the island itself—Chloe seemed to love every single one, her mouth open in awe, eyes wide with wonder. After that, Max had started sketching some of the things around them; a crab that had settled into the sand a ways away, a starfish lying in the shallow end of the pool, Max's cluster of things drying in the sun…

It wasn't until the sun was no longer casting light directly onto the ground of the cave that Max realized what time it was.  _How long have we been here?_  Being with Chloe had felt like no time had passed at all. And she didn't realize until now that she'd been leaning her shoulder on Chloe's shoulder, the two of them bent over the sketchbook in Max's lap.

Noticing Max's preoccupied expression, Chloe asked, "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, sorry. I just noticed the time. I should probably head back."  _Damn. Talk about being lost in time._

"Oh," Chloe said, sounding disappointed.

Noticing Chloe's suddenly downcast expression, Max felt her heart twinge in her chest.

"I can come back here tomorrow," Max offered, unwilling to see Chloe so crestfallen.  _After all she's done for me, I should at least return the favor in some way._

Chloe looked up quickly, a bright smile on her face.

"That'd be really sick," she said, hey blue eyes bright and alive.

"Sounds great. I'll be back here before noon," Max said, standing up and brushing the sand off her clothes, and Chloe did the same next to her. The two picked up Max's now-dried things, and Max slung the bag she'd brought originally and her old bag over her shoulder.

"Thanks for today, Max," Chloe said, heading back to the pool. As she waded into the water, she turned and flashed a brilliant smile.

"Yeah, thanks, Chloe," Max said, making to turn towards the entrance of the cave. She suddenly remembered something and turned back around to tell Chloe, but Chloe had already dove underwater, disappearing through the tunnel that led back to the sea.

"Thanks for saving me," Max whispered. With Chloe's disappearance, the cave suddenly seemed…less bright, despite the fact that the sun's light barely reached into it. Taking a deep breath, Max turned and left the cave, her mind filled with the thoughts of today.

It wasn't until Max was back at her home that she realized she'd completely forgotten to ask Chloe about the answers to all of the questions that'd been burning in her mind in the past few days. There was something about just  _being_  with this new stranger that seemed to set Max at ease. Maybe it was just Chloe's overflowing optimism and positivity, or maybe it was just the thrill of being with an  _Atlantean_ , who somehow, by some weird twist of fate, shared the same passions as her…

 _Either way_ , Max thought as she held her sketchbook in her hands, fondly recalling Chloe's excited reactions to her drawings,  _it'd be cool to see Chloe again_ _._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kind of wonder what Chloe was like before Max left and her dad died; I imagine that she was pretty upbeat and energetic, so I tried to write her like that here—obviously none of the shit that happened to her in-game has happened to her in this AU, which might be why she sounds a little OOC here. But anyway, thanks for reading, again!


	8. Across the Universe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max learns more about Chloe's world, and how they'd come to meet.

**CHAPTER 7: ACROSS THE UNIVERSE**

As she prepared her trip to the cave the next morning, Max pondered about what exactly fate had in store for her.  _I have to talk to Kate eventually about this. And I still have to figure out why the Prescotts sent the Blackwell on a suicide mission._ Sighing, Max started her walk to the cave through the jungle, where specks of sunlight peeked out through the tangles of leaves and branches.

_I still feel like there's something bigger happening. I just don't know what._

As Max brushed aside the leaves and vines that covered the entrance, she spotted Chloe lounging near a curved wall that offered some shade from the sun above, wearing the same black shorts and black vest. The moment Chloe spotted Max, a wide-grin broke out on her face and Max couldn't help but smile too. Chloe's enthusiasm was just so contagious, and Max actually felt relief that Chloe showed up. A part of her still didn't believe that what had happened yesterday was real; a real Atlantean and her. Talking. About her art. It sounded so crazy, yet…

"Hey," Max breathed, looking into Chloe's blue eyes; they managed to take Max's breath away, and as she sat down next to Chloe in the sand, a slight blush came to her face.

"Hey, yourself," Chloe responded back, giving a small laugh. "So, are you gonna draw again, today?" she asked eagerly, leaning back against the wall, her hands on either side of her, fingers digging into the sand. The expression on her face looked so hopeful that Max laughed.

"In a moment," she said, taking off her bag and putting it next to her. "Chloe…I was wondering if I could ask you a few things."

Chloe bit her lip, thinking. "Sure. Don't know if I can answer all of your questions, though."

Max took a deep breath, running over the questions in her mind, trying to make sure none of them would offend Chloe in any way.

"How did you save me? The  _Blackwell_  was an entire day's distance out at sea. You didn't swim back with me, right?"

Chloe snorted. "Dude, I may be an Atlantean, but I'm not so good at swimming that I can carry someone else with me and swim like, ten thousand leagues." Chloe waved a hand dismissively. "Nah, I just asked for some help from my dolphin friends."

Max was taken aback at this new information. "Wait, what?  _Dolphin_  friends?"

Chloe raised an eyebrow at Max's incredulous tone.

"Yeah. Atlanteans can talk to marine life, you know," Chloe said. A split second later, she realized what she'd said. "Well, I guess you don't know."

Leaning back against the wall as well, her shoulder brushing Chloe's, Max just looked up towards the open ceiling and sighed.

"They don't teach us much about the Atlanteans, other than the fact you can control water," Max said. "So yeah, this is a bit new for me."

"That's all they told you?" Chloe asked, looking surprised. "They tell us so much about you humans. You guys can't control land, can't talk to any of your land animals, didn't even have electricity until we came along…" Chloe continued rattling off a bunch of facts about mankind, leaving Max to think about the new information she was gaining.

After a minute, Max interrupted. "Okay, I get it. You know more about me than I do you. Sorry for being a dumbass," she huffed, pulling her knees up to her chest and looking away. It was frustrating for her to feel so left in the dark, while everyone else seemed to know things. Kate knew more than her, the damn Prescotts knew more than her, hell, Chloe knew more than her.

Chloe fell silent for a moment before she softly said, "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Max muttered. There was a moment of silence between the two of them, and though she couldn't see Chloe's expression, she had the feeling that Chloe felt bad.  _I shouldn't be angry. It's not her fault I don't know anything_.

Sighing, Max asked her next question.  _I'll get my answers. Hopefully._

"How did you find the cave? I don't think there's anyone else on the island that knows about this place," Max said, turning to look at Chloe again.

Chloe was biting her lip, and she took a moment before she responded.

"Okay, this is gonna be hard to believe," she started, but then Max snorted.

"Really? Because talking to an Atlantean, a race that no one's seen for centuries, is totally believable."

Chloe rolled her eyes then. "I get it, Max. You're angry that all this shit's happened to you. Chill."

Max opened her mouth to shoot back a retort, but paused.  _She's not wrong._

"Anyway, so Atlanteans can talk to sealife and stuff. But some of the fish in the sea are easier to talk to than…other fish in the sea," Chloe said, shrugging. "Like, with the dolphins, it's easy. Whistling, clicking. Dolphin language is easy to understand."

Straightening up, Chloe pointed to a small cast of crabs relaxing in the shallow end of the pool. "The crabs told me. But, shit, talking to them is so  _hard_. They have this kind of pincer language—," Chloe mimed with her hands a pair of pincers, "—it takes them  _forever_ to get out one sentence, because they just have to like, pinch it out."

Max just stared, fascinated. This was something that she definitely did  _not_  know about.

"So, eventually, after they told me that you were chilling here, I was like, cool. I'll give her the bag back and that's how we're here now," Chloe said, offering a small smile at the end.

Something stirred in the back of Max's mind, reminding her of another question she'd been pondering over.

"Have you been keeping tabs on me?" she asked, her eyes meeting Chloe's.

Chloe's face immediately reddened, and she looked away.

"Uh, maybe? Yeah?" Chloe said uncertainly, glancing back to gauge Max's expression.

Max just raised an eyebrow. "Chloe, I'm not angry. I just wanna know the truth."

"Okay, fine. I didn't start keeping an eye on you until after the shipwreck," Chloe replied, leaning back onto her hands. "Before that though, I used to hang out near the beach and the pier. I'd see you around—painting, or playing music."

Max remembered the night that she'd gone to paint several days ago.

"I'm gonna guess you were the one who threw my brush back at me, that one night."

Chloe laughed, reaching a hand up to ruffle her blue hair. "Yeah. Most of the time when I go and hang out here, I just stay in the water. Sometimes I steal some human clothes and go walk around, but that night, I was just planning on listening to those people who usually play music on the pier."

The way Chloe looked at Max then, and the way she bit her lip; Max had to remind herself to breathe.  _She's just so pretty._

Chloe had to take a breath before she continued her story. "But then I saw you down at the beach, painting. I like watching you draw and paint," she admitted. "I thought you were gonna stop painting when you dropped your brush into the water. So I just threw it back."

Max couldn't help but smile then, picturing a forlorn Chloe in the ocean, watching her pack up her things.

"Sorry, I must've disappointed you when I stopped painting then," she said lightly, and Chloe smiled back at her then, looking reassured that Max's anger had passed.

"A little. But you came back. And you played with those people. But your music…" Chloe's voice trailed away softly, and Max had to lean forward to hear what she said next. "It just sounded so  _sad_."

Max looked away then, reminded of how she'd felt that night. Seeing Hayden trying to drink away his sorrows had definitely struck a sad chord in her heart. Not to mention how lost and confused she'd felt, unsure of what the world wanted from her.

"I just kind of wanted to make sure you were okay. Kate worried about you too, so I thought I'd do us both a favor and just ask the sea animals around here to look out for you," Chloe continued, lying down in the sand, turning on her side so that she was looking at Max. "I hope that's okay," she quickly added.

Max didn't answer for a moment, instead just lying down next to Chloe and facing her as well. Though she didn't quite meet Chloe's eye, Max could feel something in her heart; a warmth that came from the fact that Chloe and Kate had worried for her.  _I may have lost the Blackwell, but at least I know I still have friends here._

"It's cool. Thanks, Chloe," Max said, reaching out to draw swirls in the sand between them. "But no more keeping tabs, okay? It's a little bizarre," she said, meeting Chloe's eye.

"Yeah, yeah. Got it," Chloe nodded, eager to get back onto Max's good side. "Anymore questions?"

Max had to think for a moment. "Nothing pressing. But you already know so much about me. All I know about you is your name, and that you like watching me paint and draw and play music," she said thoughtfully.

Chloe nodded, understanding. "True. Well, what do you wanna know about me?"

For the next hour, Max got to know more about Chloe's life in the sea. Though she seemed unwilling to talk about Atlantis itself, which Max understood well enough, Chloe did open up about her desire to travel the world. Chloe explained the reason why she hung around Arcadia Island so much—it was a different world from her own sea home. Max suddenly understood why Chloe had seemed most excited to see her landscape sketches; it showed Chloe lands that she'd never seen before. Chloe sounded so wistful when she described the old human paintings they had in Atlantis; paintings that depicted canyons, mountains, and old castles. The more Max learned about Chloe, the more she realized that they were the same—except she was human, and Chloe was an Atlantean. They were two people who'd come from different universes but cut from the same cloth.

"You humans have all this land to explore. The sea's kind of the same everywhere," Chloe said sadly, drawing a rough-looking mountain in the sand. "I just wanna get out, you know? That's my plan—leave home and see the world."

Max knew exactly what that feeling felt like. It'd been the entire reason why she'd wanted to join the ship life, and her heart ached at seeing Chloe look so downcast. Unthinkingly, Max reached out to Chloe's hand and interlaced their fingers together before she whispered, "I know exactly how that feels."

Their eyes met, and Max, realizing the sudden closeness between the two of them, immediately pulled her hand away from Chloe's. Her face red, Max just mumbled, "Sorry. I just…I know that feeling."

Chloe said nothing, though her expression looked more surprised than anything else.

Exhaling in an attempt to calm her pounding heart, Max continued. "I wanted to explore the world when I was a kid too. That's why I joined the  _Blackwell_. So I could travel around and see new things."

Chloe bit her lip then, a look of sorrow passing over her face. "But now your ship's gone," she said quietly. "And you can't go anywhere."

Max sighed then, sitting back up and staring ahead at the pool, where its waters shimmered and reflected the light from the afternoon sun.

"The  _Blackwell_  is gone, Chloe, but I think I found something just as good," she said, turning and giving a small smile to Chloe. Though the sadness of her loss was still in her mind, Max knew there would have to be a time when she would need to move on. And Chloe's presence did make the world…a little brighter.

Chloe laughed then, sitting up as well. "Wow, that's really touching," she chuckled, and Max just giggled in response.  _At least I cheered her up a little._

"Speaking of the  _Blackwell_  though, I remember you said you don't…normally save people," Max said, her tone turning serious. "What did you mean by that?"

Chloe responded slowly, as if she was trying to make sure her words were carefully chosen before she spoke. "The reason why all the ships that go west from Arcadia Island is because we—I mean, Atlanteans—make that happen. We have this machine that basically takes out any ship that tries to go west. Any ship that seems like it might come to Atlantis, it gets ripped apart."

Max remembered the old story of Bartholomew Prescott. At least she now knew that part of the myth was true. She nodded, and Chloe continued.

"Normally we don't do anything. The machine just does its thing and we just don't really notice it's there. But Kate," Chloe paused for a moment, her brow furrowed as she tried to recall the events of that day, "Kate was lucky that day. I'd gone to hang out with her, and when she came back to her house, she begged me to come get you."

Though Max knew that the crew of the  _Blackwell_  was gone, she couldn't help but feel a little bitterness in her heart that Chloe couldn't have saved them all too.

"How come you couldn't save everyone else?" Max asked, trying not to sound harsh, but her tone still came out almost accusatory.

"Max, none of you humans can know about us. Just going to save  _you_  was a huge risk," Chloe explained. "If I'd tried to save all of you, one of you guys would've ended up telling everyone else here, and then the Prescotts—"

Chloe abruptly stopped then, as if she'd come close to revealing something that she shouldn't be saying. Sensing this, Max tried to push forward.

"The Prescotts were the ones who sent us out there. They wanted us to carry some cargo—but I have the feeling they knew that we were going to get wrecked out there," Max said quickly. She could feel it in her mind, the feeling that she was close to figuring out something, to finding the answer to a long unanswered question.

Chloe looked agitated at Max's response, her hands clenching in the sand.

"The Prescotts must be up to something, Max," she said quietly, her brow furrowed. "There haven't been this many ships going west for centuries—and then just a few years ago, more and more ships started coming west. We don't know why, because all of them just keep getting destroyed."

Max grabbed Chloe's arm, trying to keep her grounded. "We need to figure out what's happening, Chloe. Together," she said pleadingly, looking into Chloe's blue eyes, trying to convey her need to understand.

Chloe looked hesitant, as if she was unsure of how to respond. "But how?" Chloe breathed, holding her head in her hands. "Even we Atlanteans know that the Prescotts are still powerful, Max. If we're gonna take them down, we'll need help—the two of us can't do much."

Max knew that was true. Even if Chloe believed in her, she knew that to the rest of Arcadia Island, she was one of many other sailors. Insignificant and at the bottom of the social and economic chain, Max knew that if she tried to bring this up to any authority figure, she'd be shut down immediately. The Prescotts had their hand in everything, and she didn't doubt there was nothing on this island that they didn't hear about.

Except this. Her. And Chloe.

Letting go of Chloe's arm, she gave an irritated huff of breath. "We'll figure out something, Chloe." She noticed how Chloe had used 'we', and that made her feel just slightly better.

Chloe just looked up and nodded, though her expression still seemed preoccupied.

Biting her lip, Max tried to think of a way to talk about something lighter; she didn't want to scare Chloe away this early, and if she was being honest with herself, she wanted to spend more time with Chloe. The way they both seemed to understand each other—this was something that Max had never experienced before.

"We don't have to figure it out right now," Max said softly, reaching for her bag and pulling out her sketchbook. "Look, I'll draw whatever you want today."

Chloe perked up at that, a smile coming across her face; Max's heart fluttered in her chest, seeing Chloe look so much brighter again.

"I'd really like that."


	9. The Everlasting Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max confronts Kate for the honest truth.

**CHAPTER 8: THE EVERLASTING TRUTH**

When it'd come time for Max to leave again, Chloe looked disappointed when Max told her that she needed to see Kate the next day. Though Chloe sighed and said she understood, she still asked for when she could see Max next. They'd decided on meeting back at the cave in two days, and with that, Chloe departed for the sea and Max headed back home.

As Max awoke the next morning, she slowly got up, her mind running over the questions that she had to ask Kate when she saw her that day. The pieces of the puzzle were coming together, and Max could feel the bigger picture coming into view.  _The Prescotts. The Arcadians. The Atlanteans. The Marshes._   _There's more to this than meets the eye._

As she walked towards the swamp that the Marshes lived in, Max wondered if she could get Kate to help her figure out what all of this meant as well. Another part of her felt despondent at the thought of having to fight an all-powerful family that could very easily imprison her for any reason. Sighing, Max got onto the raft and started paddling into the waters, automatically looking for the red threat that would guide her to the floating church.  _Maybe once I have all the pieces, I can tear them down easily._

After she made it there and securely tied the raft to the makeshift dock at the entrance, Max carefully made her way to the door. Again, when she knocked, no one answered, so Max took a step inside, eyes squinting as they adjusted to the dimness.

Feeling a strange sense of déjà vu, Max called out softly, "Kate?"

Unlike last time, Max heard light but rapid steps on the staircase next to her. Looking up, Max saw Kate hurriedly putting her hair into her traditional bun as she quickly descended the stairs. When Kate saw Max, her face broke into a smile, warm and friendly.

"Hey, Max," she said, a little breathless as she continued to rearrange her hair. "What are you doing here?"

Max just raised an eyebrow. "Kate. I know everything."

Kate became motionless, her hands frozen in her hair. "What do you mean?"

Rolling her eyes, Max gently guided Kate over to a pew, and the two sat down.

"Kate, I know that you know about the Atlanteans, and I know that you're the one who told Chloe to save me," Max said, leaning back against the pew and looking Kate directly in the eyes. "I'm thankful that you did that—I really am, but Kate, I just want to know why you kept your history with the Atlanteans a secret."

Max paused for a moment before adding on softly, "From me."

Kate finished rearranging her hair into her bun, though she looked away the entire time, not quite meeting Max's eyes. She was silent for a few moments before she sighed, clasping her hands in her lap.

"So Chloe did go and actually meet you," Kate said quietly, looking down at her feet. Closing her eyes, Kate leaned back against the pew, and Max had the slight feeling that Kate was trying to pull herself together.

Taking a deep breath, Kate turned to Max then. "Max, you remember the Great Ocean War, right?"

Max nodded. "Yeah. I do."

"Then do you remember how the Atlanteans snuck in and out of the Prescott's army?"

Max had to think for a second before that detail came to her mind.

"Yeah…?"

Kate stood up and gestured for Max to follow her into the room Max had seen her in when she'd visited a few days ago. They entered the room, where a small window illuminated the dim space.

"We were the ones who did that," Kate revealed. "We let the Atlanteans onto the island, and that's how they got off the island—through us," and she moved over to the small gate in the floor. Kate opened it, and Max looked curiously inside, seeing the water directly below. A person could easily reach their hands up from the water below, grip the edges of the opening, and haul themselves up. Or…an Atlantean could.

Max filled in the gaps to the story herself. "So the Atlanteans never came by sea—they came through the marsh, and then to the town, and they left the same way. And the Prescotts wouldn't even have a chance of finding the floating church—so it's the perfect place to hide," she said slowly.

Kate nodded, and she pointed to the waters below. "And after Chloe dropped you off at the beach after the wreck, she came here to tell me to go get you—so I went and got Warren," Kate said solemnly, looking down at the marsh waters below.

"Oh, and I was talking to Chloe when you came by a few days ago. She was asking me about how you were doing—and that she wanted to meet you," Kate chuckled at the memory.

Still thinking over the Marshes' involvement in the Great Ocean War, Max asked another question. "But why help the Atlanteans?"

Kate pursed her lips, and she stood up, closing the hatch to the waters below.

"Max, the church teaches compassion and love for all," Kate said softly. "My ancestors knew that—and they knew war between the two races was wrong."

Understanding came over Max's face. "They disagreed with how Batholomew stole the artifact—so they helped the Atlanteans get it back, to restore peace."

Kate nodded vigorously, excited to see that Max was starting to understand the Marsh's side of the war.

"Ever since then, my family's been allowed contact with the Atlanteans. We learn about them, and we give them information about the human world," she said, walking back out to the apse and gazing up at the giant wooden cross that towered over them.

"My family's had this relationship with them for years—my sisters and I were taught from a young age to learn and be open to the Atlanteans. We're taught to keep our relations going; we learn things about diplomacy, our history, their history—we learn as much as we can to make sure we keep and hopefully improve peace between us," Kate continued, sitting down on a pew in the front.

"The Atlanteans believe in the same things my family believes in," she said. "They liked the collaboration between the two races—while it lasted, anyway," Kate sighed, sitting down on a pew. Max joined her, and together the two looked over the altar in front of them.

"But then the war happened, and they…" Kate paused for a moment, looking downcast. "They don't trust humanity anymore, not after what Bartholomew did. So they don't trust us enough to bring any one of my family to Atlantis," Kate said wistfully. "But they do keep in contact with us."

"What do you mean they keep in contact with you?" Max asked, sitting down next to Kate.

"They send us letters by fish or something," Kate shrugged. "Sometimes one or two of them come to visit us in person—Chloe likes to come just to hangout—and they ask about the Prescotts or other things."

_The Prescotts._

"Kate, what do you know about the Prescotts?" Max asked, trying to keep her tone level, though her mind was racing with a thousand thoughts.

"My parents told me the Atlanteans didn't ask about them until a few years ago. Apparently," Kate said quietly, and she instinctively reached for the cross around her neck, "The Atlanteans think the Prescotts are up to something, Max. They had us try and figure out the Prescott's shipping records since more ships keep going west and crashing, but their records are kept in their mansion. Even trying to ask about it would probably put us on their hit list," Kate admitted.

Max nodded. "Chloe told me pretty much the same thing. I think there's a reason why they sent the  _Blackwell_  out there, Kate."

"I don't think we'll ever figure out why though, Max," Kate said hesitantly. "You know what happens to people who try to talk back to the Prescotts."

Max didn't have to be reminded. She'd seen some of the bar brawls that happened between some of the older Prescotts and sailors. The result, of course, was harsh punishment…for the sailors. She'd seen the pillories down by the docks, where the incriminated seamen stood there forlornly, head and arms trapped in between the slabs of wood. They'd remained there until one of the Prescotts felt merciful enough to free them.

Max bit her lip, leaning back against the pew, rubbing a hand against her temple as she tried to process this new information. Noticing Max's anxious expression, Kate reached out and gently put a hand on Max's shoulder.

"Thanks for telling me all of this, Kate," Max sighed. "But I'm still wondering why you didn't tell me earlier. Did the Atlanteans swear your family to secrecy?"

Kate took her hand away, and looked deep in thought for a moment before she spoke.

"You're one of my best friends, Max. But can you imagine what the Atlanteans would think if they knew any of us Marshes told another Arcadian about them?" Kate said, a slight hint of anxiety at the edge of her voice. "Max, they barely trust my family as is. I don't tell anyone because I don't want to destroy whatever chance there is of humanity gaining the Atlanteans' trust back," she finished, standing up and gently lifting up a white flower on the altar.

"But now you know about them," Kate sighed, rotating the flower between her fingers. "I just want peace between the two races, Max. Do you remember the story? Humans and Atlanteans—we accomplished so much together. Can you imagine that happening again?"

The way Kate sounded so hopeful, so optimistic, that Max couldn't help but feel her heart lift a little as well; her time with Chloe was a sure sign that humans and Atlanteans could get along.

"I understand, Kate," Max said softly, and Kate turned to her, a smile on her face.

"Thanks, Max," Kate said gratefully, putting the flower back down on the altar. Her expression turned serious for a moment though. "But…I think you and Chloe should keep your meetings a secret. I'm not sure how my family would react, and I'm afraid of what would happen if either the Atlanteans or the Prescotts found out."

Nodding, Max stood up, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder. "I was thinking the same thing. But Kate," she said, and Kate turned to her then.

"I know the Prescotts are up to something. And I have to find out why," Max said, determination in her voice. Raising a hand to stop Kate, who'd opened her mouth to respond, Max continued. "I don't know how, but if we help the Atlanteans figure out what the Prescotts are up to, they'll be grateful, right?"

Kate pursed her lips, thinking about Max's proposal.

"That's…true. But we need to be careful, Max," Kate said cautiously, "Let's wait for a while before we try anything."

Max nodded in agreement. Despite everything she'd learned the past few days, Max still felt like she hadn't learned enough.  _There's just a few more pieces missing._

After that heavy conversation, the two decided on speaking on more lightweight matters. Though the two of them now knew the implications of Chloe in their lives, and the mystery surrounding the Prescotts, the pair agreed that waiting some time for new information to come was the best idea. Kate suggested making a move after the Everyday Scholars festival; the Prescotts would be in high publicity then, most likely showing off whatever new technological wonder that their family had made in their labs. Max agreed with that thought, thinking that whatever the Prescotts revealed at the festival could be sign of what they might be up to.

They discussed at length some more about Kate's preparation for the festival, and that subject brightened Kate up considerably. She was excited about the raft races, but even more so when she told Max about the nighttime market that was to be set up at the festival. Kate eagerly told Max that several people from the mainland were coming to the island to sell their wares. The prospect of seeing new things brightened Max and Kate's day, and their moods felt lighter.

Finally, when it was late afternoon, Max bid Kate goodbye and headed back to her house.

_I just have to wait for a while. And then I'll understand._


	10. First Steps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things will pick up after this chapter, don't worry lol. Just wanted to make sure to establish some worldbuilding things before I got into the meat of the story. Please drop a review or a kudos if you can! I'd really appreciate some feedback and critique! Thanks to everyone who's stuck it out this far; I'm almost done writing the entire fic, so I'll try and post chapters sooner rather than later.

**CHAPTER 9: FIRST STEPS**

Max returned to the cave the next day, almost running there in her excitement to see Chloe again. After yesterday, Max was in the mood for something lighthearted; Chloe was just the person to lift up her spirits. A part of her wondered why she was so excited—she'd only known Chloe for two days, but she'd felt like they knew so much more about each other. It almost felt like they'd met before…

Just as Max walked through the entrance of the cave, she saw Chloe striding forward from the pool, the water clinging to her toned arms and legs, her lips slightly apart as she took in a breath of air—Max found herself frozen in place, staring at the way Chloe reached up and ran a hand through her drenched blue hair, the way the sunlight perfectly highlighted the contours of her face, the way the beads of water on her neck dripped down her bare skin, down to her collarbone. Despite the usual black vest and black shorts, Chloe looked… _She literally looks like a goddess._

Max didn't realize she'd been openly staring until Chloe came to stand in front of her. Raising an eyebrow and scrunching the water out of her hair, Chloe asked, "Hello? Max? You okay?"

Speechless for several moments, Max scrambled to get her thoughts together.

"I—I'm—you're pretty," she blurted unthinkingly.

Chloe's face broke out into a humorous grin, and she laughed, a sound that was like music to Max's ears.

"You're cute, too," Chloe chuckled, turning and sitting near their usual shaded spot.

Blushing profusely, Max followed and sat down as well, not meeting Chloe's eye.  _Way to go, dumbass._

"So, what'd you do with Kate yesterday?" Chloe asked, completely unperturbed by Max's embarrassment.

"We talked about some stuff," Max said, organizing her thoughts into something coherent. Sighing, Max leaned back against the rock wall and continued, "We're gonna wait for the Prescotts to make a move before we try to figure anything out."

Chloe nodded. "Sounds cool. Lemme know when I can get in on the action," she said, grinning.

Suddenly reminded of what she'd wanted to ask Chloe that day, Max bit her lip, unsure if she wanted to actually ask Chloe to come to town with her. Back when Chloe had been discussing her need to explore, Max had realized that Chloe had only ever been to the pier and the beach, but nowhere close to or even inside Arcadia Town; she thought then that it'd be a nice change of pace from their cave talks to go and explore the island. Max decided that morning to pack along some extra things that Chloe could wear to blend in with the rest of the humans.

But now, after her embarrassing initial reaction to Chloe's appearance, she wondered if Chloe would interpret her request…as a date.

Swallowing her pride and trying to not notice the heat rising to her face, Max tentatively asked, "I was…I was, uh, wondering if…"

Chloe just sat there, looking at her. "Wondering what?"

"I was wondering if you…you wanted to go to the town with me?" Max stammered, hurriedly pulling out the extra clothes and pair of boots from her bag. "You…said you never visited the town before, so I thought I'd just—"

Chloe's reaction was immediate, her face lighting up at the prospect of a new adventure. "Hella yes! That sounds so fucking cool!"

Chloe eagerly reached for the clothes and boots, picking them up and staring at them with fascination. Her eyes were bright with curiosity, and Max couldn't help but smile.

"I mean, I've stolen some of you guys' clothes before, but your boot things are still really weird," she said excitedly, and Max gave a breath of relief.  _That went well._

"And going to the town with you, too? This is gonna be awesome," Chloe said, turning to Max with a radiant smile. Max blushed slightly, noticing how Chloe had said ' _with you.'_

"You've done a lot for me, Chloe," Max said bashfully. "So this is the least I could do."

Chloe's expression softened. "I'm just glad you're here, Max."

After that, Max turned so that Chloe could change into her new outfit for the day. She turned around when she felt Chloe's hand on her shoulder, and—like always—Max's breath was taken away.

Chloe looked like a dashing swashbuckler, her loose white, collared shirt contrasting nicely with the red sash around her waist—her dark navy pants neatly went into her black boots, and the light, black and hooded cardigan topped it off. She just needed a hat and a sword, and Chloe would look exactly like a rogue pirate of the seas.

"How do I look?" She asked, standing up and adjusting her boot slightly, glancing at Max for approval.

"You look great," Max breathed, but she stood up as well and gently reached her hands out, popping up Chloe's collar and pulling the hood over Chloe's head.

"We can't let anyone else see your gills, so I thought it'd be a good idea to bring you a collared shirt and a hood," Max said, leaning closer to Chloe to adjust the collar and gently tying the knots at the front of Chloe's shirt. She didn't realize until she looked up for Chloe's response at just how close they were, how her hands had gently brushed Chloe's face as she'd reached around, how she could see the different shades of blue in Chloe's eyes as they gazed at each other…

Swallowing, Max took a step back, slightly red.  _I really need to chill._

"I'm not sure what we'll do about your hands though," Max continued, trying to appear unperturbed. "I was thinking you could just keep them in your pockets?" she said hesitantly, glancing at Chloe.

Chloe shrugged, though her face was slightly red. "No worries. I can hide them well enough," she said, raising her hand and making a gesture—the webs on her hands retracted slightly. It wouldn't be noticeable from afar, as long as she kept her hand movements small.

After that, the two headed out of the cave, Chloe following closely behind Max as they took the jungle path back to the town.

"Where are we going, exactly?" Chloe asked, ducking under a few tree branches.

Max turned her head behind her to respond. "I thought a cool place to go would be the marketplace."

The marketplace would be bustling around this time—it was just around noon, where vendors were prepared to sell their wares to fishermen and families looking for lunch or other things. Max especially loved going to the marketplace and having a taste at the different foods that several peddlers sold on the side of the streets. Believing that Chloe would enjoy the different tastes of human food, Max also believed that Chloe would enjoy the different trinkets that several merchants offered—Arcadia  _was_  the island of innovation and invention, after all.

As they got near the bustling market, Chloe carefully made sure her hood and collar were up before the two headed in among the crowds.

"I've never seen so many humans in one place," Chloe said under her breath, glancing around at the throngs of people walking past them. The people they saw consisted of families with running and laughing children, lone seafarers prowling the streets for a quick bite, and of course, the vendors shouting their wares and prices for the day to walkers-by.

Noticing the anxious edge in Chloe's voice, Max stopped and turned, her expression concerned. "If you don't want to be here, we can go somewhere else," she said quickly.

Chloe looked determined as she responded, "I want to explore, Max," she said, and she grabbed Max's hand and guided them through the crowds.

The feeling of Chloe's hand in hers was strange, what with the webs in between Chloe's fingers, but a part of her felt comforted at how solid Chloe's hand felt in hers.  _Chloe's real._

Max moved ahead of Chloe, and pointed to a fruit stand off on the side, its vendor holding a peach and a mango in her hands, broadly gesturing to anyone who came by.

"It's okay for you to eat land food, right?" Max asked, bringing the two of them close to the stall.

"Yeah, it's fine," Chloe said, her eyes roaming over the diversity of fruits before her.

Letting go of Chloe's hand, Max picked a few fruits and gave the merchant a few coins before guiding Chloe to a small, deserted alleyway. She pulled out a mango from her bag and Chloe looked at it curiously, her face questioning.

"This is one of my favorite fruits," Max said earnestly, pulling out a small pocket knife and cutting the mango in half, before slicing the soft fruit inside. "Here, try this," Max said, carefully picking up a small square she'd cut out and handing it to Chloe.

Chloe held the piece in between her fingers for a moment. "What's it called, exactly?"

"It's a mango. It's really sweet," Max said, cleaning her pocket knife on the edge of her shirt. "I think you'll like it."

Pausing for a second, Chloe popped the piece into her mouth, and immediately her expression brightened.

"Holy shit, that's really good," she said eagerly after swallowing the bit of mango, "Can I have more?"

Max laughed at Chloe's enthusiasm before she cut out a few more pieces of the yellow fruit. The two of them shared the mango before heading back out and exploring more of the marketplace, with Max introducing Chloe to new and exotic foods.

Of course, to Max, the strawberries and grapes and tangerines were everyday things to her—but to Chloe, they were incredible, delightful, tasteful marvels. Max's heart fluttered whenever she saw Chloe's happiness and joy at experiencing something new; Chloe's positivity just radiated off of her, and Max couldn't help but feel lighthearted as well, despite the seriousness of the past few days.

They walked together through the market, holding hands, with Max buying small bits of food for them to try. Chloe was most excited about eating a kebab, which she found to be a curious thing; a piece of wood with small bits of beef and onions and green peppers speared on it was such a bizarre culinary delight.

When Max explained land animals such as cows, and chickens, Chloe eagerly asked if they could go see any—Max laughed then, telling Chloe that the next time they explored the island, they could head to the farms. That set off another round of curious questions, and the time passed as the two wandered the streets together.

After an afternoon of sampling the market, the pair decided to take a break and head down to the beach and relax.

"Damn, I'm full," Chloe drawled, sitting down before stretching and leaning back against a palm tree. Max sat down next to her, a light smile on her face from the wonderful day.

"Glad you had a good time," Max chuckled, reaching out for her sketchbook and flipping through the pages. She hadn't been able to resist sketching Chloe's enthusiastic reactions to every type of food she tasted; it was just so adorable to see this powerful Atlantean reduced to an overexcited puppy.

"Thanks for taking me out today, Max," Chloe said, reaching a hand out and interlacing her fingers between Max's.

Blushing, Max just leaned her head against Chloe's shoulder, and Chloe leaned her head on Max's.

"Anytime, Chloe."

The two sat in peaceful silence, just enjoying the other's company, only interrupted by the scratches of Max's pencil on the paper of her sketchbook. She began the process of sketching out the landscape before her; the beach sprawled out to their left and right, where an occasional beachgoer was relaxing in the sand, and the vast ocean blue lie further ahead.

As Max glanced up at the ocean waters again, she stiffened as she saw a familiar face, her hand tightening around Chloe's.

"What is it?" Chloe asked, looking around for the source of Max's sudden tenseness.

"It's Victoria Chase," Max whispered, watching Victoria and her goons kick a couple off a spot in the sand. She scowled as Victoria claimed the spot as hers before settling down in the sand, with Courtney setting up a small umbrella to provide shade, and Taylor placing a picnic basket on the ground.

"Who's she?"

"An entitled asshole," Max muttered, "Her family's close to the Prescotts. They think they rule the entire island."

Chloe glanced down at Max's bitter expression before looking back up at Victoria. They both watched Victoria hold her hand out for something—Courtney quickly handed her a sketchbook, with Taylor giving her a pencil quickly afterward.

"I've been to her art galleries. She's not that bad," Max said quietly, glancing down at her own sketches. "I just don't understand. She has everything but she's still mean to a lot of people."

Max sighed, putting her sketchbook and pencil back in her bag. "I'm not even joking—Victoria has such a great eye for art, and she's not stupid either. When we went to school together, she aced every test and exam. She literally has no reason to bully anyone, but her and her friends do it anyway."

Chloe straightened up, pulling her hand from Max's, forming a fist with her other hand and placing it against her palm. "You want me to go beat her up?" She asked, her voice hard.

Max laughed lightly, reaching out and putting Chloe's hands down.

"Chloe, we can't draw attention to ourselves. But I appreciate the offer," she chuckled.

Chloe's expression softened, relieved at seeing Max's mood improve.

"Here, let's head back to the cave," she said, standing up and pulling Max up with her.

* * *

After they got back to the cave, Chloe pulled down the hood and flattened the collar of her shirt. She reached up a hand to ruffle her blue hair, and made to move to the water before Max gently tugged on Chloe's hand.

"I don't think you want to go swimming with human clothes, Chloe," Max said lightly, and Chloe burst out laughing.

After Chloe changed back into her black vest and black shorts, she gently pulled Max towards the pool.

"We've been on land all day," she jokingly complained. "Let's swim!"

Max rolled her eyes. "Yeah, the last time I went swimming, you splashed water all over my face before tackling me into the sand."

Giving an exasperated sigh, Chloe just turned to her.

"Yeah, but then we ended up hanging out a lot, so it worked out," Chloe said, smirking.

"Are all Atlanteans a smartass like you, Chloe?" Max asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Only the best," Chloe replied, smirking.

Sighing, but giving in, Max put her bag on the ground and took off her boots while Chloe dove into the waters. Max took a few steps into the pool until the water was up to her waist. Despite the warm afternoon, the water itself was cool against her skin.

Taking a deep breath, Max dove in after Chloe—as she opened her eyes underwater, she saw Chloe moving fluidly around her, a grin on her face.  _We're in Chloe's element, now—and she looks so at home in the water._

As Max swam to the bottom, she gently oriented herself so her feet touched the sandy floor—a sense of déjà vu came to her again, reminding her of her first encounter with Chloe. Just then, Chloe came in front of her, floating in the water before she too touched down on the sand, her blue hair haphazard around her face as she gazed back at Max.

Max reached forward through the water, noticing how the water reflected the shimmering patterns of the light down onto her and Chloe, and she felt a surreal sense of peace and…belonging, with her new friend.

Chloe reached forward and interlaced her fingers with Max's, and as their eyes met, Max wondered if Chloe was thinking the same thing she was.

_An Atlantean and a human. Together._


	11. Night Lights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is "Sea of Love" by Cat Power. And I'm uploading this chapter early as well because I needed something happy after Episode 3.

**CHAPTER 10: NIGHT LIGHTS**

Chloe and Max were almost inseparable for the next several weeks. Everyday, the two would meet back at their cave, excited for another day together. There were days where Chloe and Max would head into the town—Chloe got her wish to see a real, live cow and chicken—or there were days where they traveled up to the northern beaches, where people rarely went, and the two would talk about their lives as they laid down on the sands. Other days, Max and Chloe would head into the waters close to those beaches, and Max would watch with fascination as Chloe summoned several of her sea friends to visit—some white-sided dolphins, a solitary sting ray, several vibrant angelfish whose scales glistened a rainbow of colors in the sun.

Every meeting with Chloe was never like the last. They learned not only more about each other's worlds, but about each other. As Max learned that Atlantis had evolved into a semi-militaristic state, always on the alert for humanity, Max too discovered that Chloe's father was the lead general of Atlantis' militia. Chloe explained that her journeys to Arcadia were frowned upon by her mother and father, but she protested that their strict control over her life had led her to rebel.

"They're all so freakin' paranoid," Chloe complained, crossing her arms and scowling. "They think humanity's gonna come and bomb us or some crazy shit."

"I don't think you can light bombs underwater, Chloe," Max said.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious," Chloe said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway…"

And Chloe learned about Max's journeys across the sea. Max brought Chloe several of her old sketchbooks, showing her the different things she'd seen—like the Stone Hells, the Harpy's Whirpools, the bustling city-ports of San Francisco and Los Angeles. Max described how she'd come to be aboard the  _Blackwell_ , how her family was out in California, goldmining themselves to success; Chloe listened, riveted by strange human customs and culture.

"So…your parents just left you here alone?" Chloe rolled onto her stomach, her head resting on her hands as she gazed up at where Max was sitting against a palm tree.

"Yeah. They knew I could take care of myself," Max shrugged.

Chloe scowled, looking away.

"Wish my dad would think that," she huffed. "Like, I know he loves me and stuff. But sometimes I just wish he'd loosen up a little, you know?"

Max felt sympathy for Chloe; all the Atlantean wanted was to be free, but it seemed like the only thing holding her back was her family. And, of course, humanity, but Max didn't mention that.

"You'll be free someday, Chloe. I'm sure of it," Max smiled, and Chloe just rolled her eyes.

"Someday is taking forever to get here," Chloe said quietly before changing the subject.

The two got to know each other so well that Max started to wonder how any of this was even possible—an Atlantean and human, bonding so well over their own mutual desire to explore the world, to learn more about each other. No one had ever come this close to Max before; Kate and Warren were her friends as well, but they never shared the same passions or wants that Max did, never had that same sense of… _adventure_  in their souls.

A part of her wondered if Chloe and her were—dare she say it—soulmates; the way her heart fluttered when she saw Chloe smile, the way she felt so much lighter when Chloe laughed, the way she craved Chloe's hand in hers. She would shake her head when those thoughts came to her, fearful of what they meant—but she knew exactly what they meant. And she knew how much Chloe meant to her.

These feelings frightened her, but as much as she tried to resist, Max found herself holding hands with Chloe whenever they traveled, leaning against Chloe's shoulder as the two napped in the shade of a palm tree, gazing into Chloe's brilliant blue eyes whenever they were close…

What surprised her most was that Chloe never objected to the closeness between them; instead, Chloe seemed to be the one to initiate physical contact the most, always reaching out to Max's hand whenever they were near. A part of her questioned whether Chloe felt the same way as well, but she never pushed the matter, afraid of the answer—afraid that if Chloe did, she would have no idea how to even go forward with their relationship. How could they? They came from two races who'd remained isolated from each other for centuries, and Max knew that Chloe knew that as well.

Despite all her hesitations, Max found herself giving into them anyway, falling harder than ever for the stranger who'd saved her life.

"Hey, Chloe?" Max asked one day as they walked down the beach together, hands intertwined, the cool morning breeze brushing past them.

"Yeah?" Chloe glanced down at her.

"I was wondering if…" Max's heart fluttered in her chest as she continued, "If you wanted to go to the Everyday Scholars festival with me tonight?"

"That's the festival where there's food and games and stuff, right?" Chloe asked, grinning. "I'd love to. Sounds hella fun."

 _Sounds like a date_ , Max thought, and she blushed.  _Chill._

"Awesome, we'll head out later tonight, then," Max said. She was eager to show Chloe the sights; the festival was always a grand and fun time every year, what with the extravagant displays of arts and sciences.

Chloe smiled, a look of excitement in her eyes.

"I can't wait."

* * *

As the sunset across the horizon, Chloe donned her usual human clothing, looking dashing as always, and the pair headed towards town. It wasn't long until they heard the signs of the festival in full-swing; loud sounds of laughter, vendors shouting their wares to the crowds, the bright lights shining brightly in the evening.

Their first stop was to see Kate, who excitedly waved to them as she prepared some rafts down by the beach. They spoke with Kate for some time, telling her what they'd been doing for the past few weeks; Kate looked surprised at the amount of time they'd spent together, and though she didn't say it out loud, Kate noticed how the two of them were holding hands. While Chloe was busy looking at some of the rafts, Kate carefully brought Max aside a ways away.

"Are you two…" Kate trailed off, her voice uncertain.

"Honestly, I don't…really know, Kate," Max said quietly, and they both observed Chloe curiously picking up several of the paddles for the rafts. "But…Chloe and I are so much alike," she whispered. "It's crazy how well we get along."

"I'm not surprised," Kate responded in a low tone, "You two both have a knack for adventure." She chuckled then, though her smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Seriously though, you need to be careful, Max," Kate turned to her then, expression solemn.

"I know, I know. I'll…ask Chloe what we are later tonight," Max promised, but a part of her was uncertain if she'd be able to keep that promise.

Kate sighed and clasped the cross that hung around her neck.

"Max, I'm serious. I think the Atlanteans are getting suspicious of Chloe; she's always out early and back late to Atlantis," Kate whispered. "I know you two have been spending a lot of time together, but the Atlanteans are starting to notice. They came by the other day and asked about what exactly Chloe's been doing here."

"What did you say?" Max asked worriedly.

"Well, before you two met, Chloe would just spend a few hours with us, like, twice a week or something," Kate said, shrugging. "But now that she's gone almost everyday—I lied and said Chloe was helping us with the festival, making the rafts."

"I'm guessing Chloe's probably gone along with that story," Max murmured. She remembered a few days ago when Chloe had asked about the Everyday Scholars festival; Max had described it as best she could, detailing the Marshes' role in it, how the Grahams were kept busy during the festival to ensure no drunken brawls came, how the Prescotts would show off their most recent and greatest technological marvels. She remembered vaguely how Chloe had pressed more about the raft races.

"I'm guessing she never told me because she didn't want me to be worried," Max said, biting her lip.

"Either way, Max, you just need to be careful," Kate whispered back as Chloe came up to them, her curiosity about the rafts sated.

After that, they bid farewell to Kate, letting her get back to checking the rafts were sturdy. As they left however, Kate and Max exchanged one last look— _be careful_  was the message that came from Kate's eyes, and Max nodded her understanding.

Chloe and Max headed into the streets that had all the food stalls, and they spent some time trying the cuisine there before heading off to the carnival games—Chloe was most excited to play them, annihilating almost any competitor. After winning several games and prizes, Max laughed and held Chloe back from playing anymore, as her bag couldn't fit any more toys and gifts.

They explored some of the novelty stalls down the street, and while Chloe was busy admiring the ingenuity of fireworks, Max stood a few feet back, smiling at Chloe's enthusiasm.  _She's like an excited puppy._

Out of the corner of her eye, Max saw a familiar head of blonde hair—turning, Max saw Victoria a ways away, standing in the middle of the street, her arms crossed as she waited for Taylor and Courtney to retrieve something from another stall. In Victoria's hand was a small, celebratory pinwheel; Max had to chuckle from how bizarre it looked, Victoria's scowling face combined with the bright colors of the toy in her hand made for an amusing sight.

As Max watched from afar, a small, excited child ran up to Victoria, gesturing prominently at the pinwheel in her hand. Max snorted. _Man, is that kid going to get it now._

To her surprise, Victoria looked down at the child and offered a small smile, before bending down to the child's eye-level. She said something—Max was too far to hear it—but the child nodded vigorously, taking the pinwheel from Victoria's offered hand. The child ran off, a huge grin on her face, and for just a split second, before the crowds blocked Max's view, she saw Victoria still smiling softly, a look of care and warmth on her face.

Turning back to Chloe, who'd come back with smoke and powder on her face, Max smiled back at her friend but what she'd just seen stuck in her mind.  _Victoria. Being nice. So she's not that mean after all._

After Max asked for the time from a merchant nearby, she tugged Chloe to the pier, where a stage was set for the grand revealing of famous pieces of art and innovative, new technology.

"They'll be showing off some paintings that I really want to see," Max said eagerly, tugging on Chloe's hand and guiding them between the crowds. By now, night had fallen, and the pier was lit brightly with lampposts and lanterns.

After a few minutes and the crowd had settled down in front of the stage, an announcer came up, a man who looked jovial and enthusiastic as he waved to the audience. Cheers rose up in anticipation, and the announcer simply bowed.

"Worry not, esteemed audience! For tonight, we present to you…" A dramatic drumroll came from the orchestra pit, and then the announcer proudly exclaimed, "the greatest pieces of art and science done by humanity! Let's give it up for our everyday  _scholars!_ " The curtain split apart, revealing several people standing aside their creations.

Another loud cheer rose from the crowd, and Max stepped closer to Chloe, excitement written all over her face as she gripped Chloe's hand tightly in hers. As Chloe carefully made sure her hood and collar were properly hiding her, she glanced down to see the eagerness on Max's face at seeing a painter come to the center of the stage, proudly revealing a colossal landscape painting of a winding canyon.

"Wow, you're really into this," Chloe chuckled.

"This is so cool, Chloe!" Max said, her eyes bright. "Look at how she painted—"

As Max gushed over the artistic ability of the first several artists that presented, she didn't notice how Chloe wasn't even looking at the stage—she was looking at Max the entire time.

After the artist's exhibition was over, the announcer returned to the stage, his broad and dramatic gestures over-the-top and exuberant. "We now present to you all—the greatest scientists and inventors of this generation!" Another round of applause and whooping came from the audience as the first scientist, a woman presented something that was a much more advanced version of sonar, allowing more detailed maps of the ocean floor.

Max watched with fascination at the new inventions people presented, awed at how far humanity had advanced in just the past few centuries. This was one thing that she loved about the Everyday Scholars festival—seeing all these people come to the spotlight, recognized for their ambition and success.

Eventually, Max watched the Prescotts come to the stage—she saw Nathan Prescott alongside his father, Bradley, and their chief engineer, Brooke Scott, hauling something large onto the stage on a wagon. Whatever was on the wagon itself was covered with a large white cloth, and Max felt something stir in her memory.

Bradley came forward, his greasy hair slicked back, just like his son's. A bitter taste came to Max's mouth as she looked at the arrogant expressions on both father and son—Max instinctively tightened her grip on Chloe's hand, her other free hand clenching into a fist.

"Hello, Arcadia Island," Bradley drawled, "Behold what the Prescott Labs have built," and he waved his hand at Brooke to unveil their invention.

Max noticed how haggard and exhausted Brooke looked, and pity struck her heart at seeing Brooke as a mere pawn underneath the Prescotts' hands. Brooke was brilliant, intelligent, clever, but those qualities had garnered the attention of the Prescotts, who immediately 'recruited' her to their labs. Max knew that Brooke deserved ten times better than the Prescotts, but a part of her also knew that if Brooke even  _tried_  to resist the Prescotts…She shivered.  _Poor Brooke. They look like they're working her to the bone._

Brooke's black hair was roughly tied into a ponytail, and despite the distance from the stage, Max could see the bags underneath Brooke's eyes, the slumped shoulders, the bandaged hands—whatever the Prescotts had been forcing Brooke to make was clearly taking a toll on her body and mind.

Chloe and Max watched Brooke walk to the wagon and pull the cloth over it, revealing a large, metal contraption; it looked like nothing more than a simple metal box, but the moment Max set her eyes on it, she felt a dark feeling form in the pit of her stomach. Her gut instinct told her to run, and Max remembered the feeling she'd had when they'd set off on the  _Blackwell_ , the feeling she'd had in the Stone Hells.

Whatever the Prescotts had built…Max pressed herself closer to Chloe, anxiety written all over her face, her heart hammering in her chest. Chloe glanced down at Max, concern in her expression, and she opened her mouth to say something—

"Today, we present to you the next generation of energy storage and release," Bradley called to the audience, gesturing toward the contraption. "It can store energy and power for long amounts of time—and when need be, release it," Bradley continued, walking across the stage and putting a hand on the sleek, metallic surface.

Nathan spoke up then, sounding superior and pompous. "It's the next step in the evolution of mankind, so you can thank the Prescotts for that," he sneered, smirking and crossing his arms. "Not only that, but it's easily transportable—so you can bring your power with you wherever you want."

Max began tugging Chloe away through the crowd, the feeling in her stomach building up, filling her with apprehension and fear. Though Chloe didn't object, when they were back in the almost-empty streets, Chloe tugged on her hand and pulled Max around to face her.

"Max, are you okay?" Chloe asked, worry in her eyes.

Her heart pounding in her chest, Max hugged Chloe as hard as she could, needing comfort and warmth.

"Chloe, I just got a really bad feeling about what the Prescotts just showed," she whispered. "And my gut feeling's never been wrong. Whatever that metal thing is—it's bad, Chloe, it's really bad."

Chloe sounded confused as she responded, "But isn't portable energy a good thing?"

"I know, Chloe, but…I'm still scared," Max admitted, pulling away and looking Chloe in the eyes, trying to convey the fear that resided in the pit of her stomach.

"Hey, hey," Chloe said, and she leaned her head slightly, their foreheads touching as Chloe gazed back. "You're gonna be okay, Max. I'm here."

The proximity of their faces had Max's heart racing for another reason; before she could react, Chloe pulled away and tugged on her hand.

"C'mon. There's still other things we can do," Chloe said lightly, and the two explored several more food stalls, played a few more carnival games; Chloe made sure to avoid the pier again, which Max was grateful for.

Before long, her time with Chloe brought Max into better spirits, but a part of her noted just how late it was, with the moon shining brightly in the starry sky above them. She was loath to part from Chloe's company, and she found herself finding excuses to spend more time with the Atlantean.

"I've never showed you my house, have I?" Max asked.

"Nope," Chloe said, raising an eyebrow. "Bringing me home to your parents already, Max?" Chloe laughed, that classic grin on her face.

"Chloe, you know my parents are back in America," Max said, rolling her eyes. She tried not to think about what Chloe had just subtly implied as she guided them both through the streets of the town.

"It's a little small, but I like to think I made it my own," Max said, opening the door and turning on the light that hung from the center of the ceiling. Its warm, golden glow illuminated the small room, and Chloe walked inside, looking around curiously.

Chloe immediately gravitated towards Max's desk, where her art tools were scattered over its surface.

Pointing to a canvas, Chloe softly said, "You never finished that painting, did you?"

After putting her bag down and taking out all the prizes Chloe had won from the games, Max walked over and looked at the unfinished painting from all those nights ago, the night that Chloe had thrown her brush back.

"I guess I just never got back to it," Max said, shrugging. "And…"

"And?"

"And…it just feels weird going to the beach without you there," Max finished quietly, blushing slightly.

Chloe laughed, and Max couldn't help but smile.

"Guess you probably didn't want any more flying brushes to hit you either," Chloe chuckled. "It's cool, Max. Just lemme know when you do finish it. I wanna be there," she said.

"Sure."

Chloe looked around the room again, and her eyes fell on Max's guitar, leaning against the side of the desk.

"Woah, dude, I didn't know you actually owned a guitar, too," Chloe said excitedly, picking it up and holding it in her hands. "Like, you told me you played, but you never bring this with you when we hang out."

The thought had never occurred to Max to bring it. She usually woke up every morning, packed her bag as fast as possible, and left as soon as she could, eager to start another adventure with Chloe.

"Sorry, I Just never really thought of that," Max said, reaching out for the guitar. Chloe handed it to her, and Max suddenly came up with another idea.

"How about I make it up to you and we go down to the beach now, and I'll play you a song?" Max asked, praying that Chloe would say 'yes' despite how late the night had gone.

A smile broke across Chloe's face, the light in her eyes seeming to make the room a little bit brighter.

"Let's do it."

* * *

They headed to their usual northern beach, deserted except for a few resting crabs and scattered shells and starfish. Above, the moon shone its silver light brightly onto the earth below, illuminating the sand with a silver glow, and the ocean waters rippled the reflection of the night sky.

The only sounds they heard were the soft rush of the waves running over the sand and the rustle of the palm trees from the cool night breeze.

Max sat down in the sand, her guitar strapped on her back. Pulling off her boots, she enjoyed the feeling of the sand between her toes, and a feeling of content washed over her; just the sea, her, and Chloe.

It felt perfect.

"Hey, Chloe?" Max asked softly as Chloe sat down next to her, leaning back on her hands.

"Yeah?"

Max pulled her guitar around and fiddled with it for a moment, trying to find the right words to say. To tell Chloe how much she meant to her. To confess to Chloe how she felt. It was just the two of them—this would be a perfect time to tell her.

As she felt the strings of the guitar in between her fingers, Max came up with an idea.

"I...never got to really thank you for saving my life, Chloe," Max said, turning her head to meet Chloe's blue eyes. "I just…wanted to say thank you. For everything," she said softly.

Chloe didn't look away as she responded, her gaze almost seeming to look into Max's soul.

"I'm just glad you're here, Max," Chloe said quietly. "I never thought I'd meet someone like you," she continued, turning and gazing out onto the ocean. "I never thought I'd meet someone who could understand me, you know?" The way Chloe's voice sounded so fragile at the end—it made Max's heart ache.

"I know how that feels," Max whispered, instinctively reaching a hand out and putting it over Chloe's.

Chloe turned to her then, a small smile on her face. She pulled her hand out from Max's, only to reach forward and gently brush Max's hair behind her ear, her fingers just barely touching Max's cheek. They looked at each other again for another moment, and Max almost stopped breathing—looking at Chloe never ceased to take her breath away.

Breaking the silence, Chloe put her hand back down behind her and said softly, "So, what song are you gonna play for me?"

Swallowing, Max felt the heat rise to her face and she struggled for a second to regain her composure. She strummed the strings for a moment before reaching over to the head and adjusting the tuning pegs, trying to buy herself time. Her heart was pounding in her chest from the nervousness she felt about her plan; she hoped and prayed that her plan wouldn't backfire.

"It's… a special song," Max said quietly. "I…I hope you like it."

Hearing the hesitation in Max's voice, Chloe moved closer to Max, their shoulders touching.

"I'm sure I will."

Taking a deep breath, Max started playing, the soft sound of the guitar accompanying her as she sang softly.

" _Come with me, my love…"_

Closing her eyes, Max felt her hesitations slipping away, the music encouraging her.

" _To the sea, the sea of love."_

" _I want to tell you…how much I love you."_

Her fingers passing gently over the strings of her guitar, Max kept playing.

" _Do you remember when we met?_ "

" _That's the day I knew you were my pet."_

Chloe shifted closer.

" _I want to tell you…how much I love you."_

Max's heart felt so light just then.

" _Come with me, my love…"_

As she sang the next few lines, Chloe joined in softly.

" _To the sea, the sea of love."_

" _I want to tell you…how much…_ "

Max felt Chloe's hands on hers, pulling the guitar away, and Max opened her eyes and turned to see Chloe's face so close, just inches away.

"I love you too, Max," Chloe whispered, her blue eyes bright in the moonlight.

Losing all reservations, Max leaned forward, and their lips met, Chloe's warm and gentle; Max tasted the salt of the ocean on Chloe's mouth, felt Chloe's hands on her back, pushing them closer, and she shivered as she reached forward and tangled her hands in Chloe's blue hair.

They broke apart momentarily, and Chloe took that opportunity to pull Max onto her lap, pushing the guitar onto the sands. The two gazed at each other, their breathing uneven, hearts hammering in their chests.

Though Max was unsure of what her future was to be, she knew she wanted it to be a future with Chloe.

And as she kissed Chloe again in the moonlight, she could feel that Chloe wanted just the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know about the future of this fic after what happened in episode 3. I just...don't know if I can write Chloe and Max right now. I have the next few chapters finished and edited, but...I don't know. I'm just really shaken up right now. Again, thanks for reading, drop a review if you can, and when I'm feeling better I'll get back to writing and uploading chapters.


	12. Part of Her World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm ambivalent towards this chapter as a whole but...you guys seemed like you really wanted me to continue this, so here's the next chapter. Thanks for the reviews, everyone! At Sea is one of my lesser read fics, so I'm starting to lose some motivation for it but I'm glad there's a few out there who like it.

**CHAPTER 11: PART OF HER WORLD**

Breathing heavily, Max adjusted her grip on the dolphin beneath her, carefully holding onto the dorsal fin with one hand while the other held tightly onto one of the dolphin's flippers.

"So, where are we going, exactly?" Max panted, trying not to fall off the dolphin—she remembered Chloe had named him  _Bongo_ , of all names—as he swam through the ocean water.

After their night together, Chloe needed to bid farewell—but not without one last, breathtaking kiss that left Max wanting more.

The next morning, Max almost sprinted back to their usual cave in anticipation—and was met with Chloe's lips colliding into hers, and she couldn't help but smile against Chloe's mouth, a small laugh escaping her as she pulled away to see Chloe's eager expression.

"Glad to see you too," Max said lightly.

"Me too. I have something I wanna show you," Chloe said excitedly, pulling Max from the cave and to the beach.

And now Max was in the middle of the ocean with Bongo the dolphin and Chloe for company.

Chloe just laughed as she kept swimming, keeping pace with Bongo. "It's a surprise, Max."

After a few more minutes of swimming and seemingly going nowhere—all Max saw was ocean on all sides—Max asked again.

"Seriously, Chloe, where are we going? You're not going to do that thing in old fisherman's tales where you lure unsuspecting humans out to the ocean to drown, right?" Max asked.

Chloe stopped swimming then, making a few clicks towards their animal companion. Bongo immediately stopped and made slow, lazy circles around the Atlantean.

"Seriously, Max?" Chloe huffed, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, I'm gonna confess my love for you and then go and drown you," she said sarcastically.

"Chloe, this poor dolphin has literally been carrying me for like the past hour or so. I just want to know what I'm doing all the way out here," Max said, feeling a little apprehensive. Coming back to the ocean, though it'd been weeks since the incident, still felt a little…unnerving, and if she had to admit it, Max was slightly frightened at being back in the open water. Though she trusted Chloe with her life, anxiety still sank its claws into her stomach, and she bit her lip, worry lining her face.

"And…I'm just not used to being this far in the ocean after…" Max said quietly, looking away and bringing herself closer to the dolphin.

Chloe's expression immediately turned concerned, and then apologetic.

"Shit, I'm so sorry. I totally forgot—I'm sorry," she said, regret on the edges of her voice. Chloe came forward and gently placed a hand over Max's, moving around to look her in the eye.

"I'm sorry," she repeated softly. "I just…wanted to do something special for you."

Max took a deep breath, trying to calm her pounding heart, trying not to remember that day.

"It's okay. Just…let me know where we're going."

Chloe looked at her carefully before responding.

"I wanted to bring you to Atlantis."

Max almost did a double take.

" _What?_ " She said, shocked. "Chloe, are you  _serious?!_ " If Max had been worried before, now she was panicked. It was one thing for Chloe to visit her on the island, in human clothing, where she could pass—but Max going to  _Atlantis_  was a completely different story.

Looking taken aback, Chloe took her hand from Max's, treading water as she bit her lip in hesitation.

"I—I—I just thought since you've shown me your home, I wanted to show you mine too," she said defiantly. "I know it's a crazy idea but I really just want you to come. Please," she added, almost begging.

"Chloe, do you realize what could happen if someone in Atlantis  _sees_  me?!" Max almost cried, panic and fright in her voice. "You said so yourself—if your dad so much as even sees me or knows about me, war will happen—"

"Max, Max, I know, I know! I have it planned out!" Chloe interrupted, reaching out with two hands and cupping Max's face, making Max look into her eyes.

"Relax. I got this," Chloe said firmly. "I just wanted to show you my place, and then we can go, okay?" Her gaze never left Max's, determined and fierce.

After a moment, Max just nodded. Chloe moved forward and kissed Max gently, trying to convey confidence and bravery in that brief moment of intimate contact. Though Max's heart was hammering away in her chest, she reminded herself that Chloe was  _here_.  _I'm gonna be okay._

Chloe pulled away and whistled at Bongo, and their small party moved forward through the ocean for a little while longer until Chloe came to stop.

"Okay, this is going to be a little weird for you," Chloe breathed, turning to look at Max, her expression focused. "You know we can manipulate water and stuff, right?"

Max nodded, adjusting her arms around Bongo.

"Okay…Well," Chloe started, sounding hesitant.

"Well, what?"

"The water manipulation thing is something that takes a lot of practice to do."

"And…?"

"And…I'm kinda shitty at it."

All Max could feel was confusion.

"What does you being shitty at water manipulation have to do with me visiting Atlantis?"

Chloe sighed, reaching up with one hand to ruffle her blue hair.

"Dude, you can't breathe underwater. So I basically have to like, create a bubble of air for you to breathe in."

Max just stared.

"So…can you?"

Chloe gave an exasperated huff. "Max, I'm not stupid. I wouldn't have brought you out here if I couldn't do that. I just wanted to let you know it's going to take a lot of focus and energy to make sure you don't drown."

"Sorry. I trust you, Chloe," Max said. "But what do you mean it'll take a lot of energy? How does it wo—"

"Max, I'll answer your questions about it once I can actually get you to Atlantis," Chloe said impatiently. "I'm gonna tell Bongo to go dive—just, hold your breath at first, okay?" she asked, her gaze intense and focused.

"Alright," Max said hesitantly.

"When we go underwater, we're going to be going through some currents that'll get us there faster. Just hold tightly onto Bongo and he'll take care of you, alright?" Chloe instructed, nodding at Max's hands, where they gripped onto Bongo's fins.

"Okay, got it. Don't let go of Bongo," Max repeated, nodding. Her heart was pounding in her chest, a feeling of excitement and adrenalin coursing through her veins. Admittedly, she was nervous to go to Atlantis—but another part of her was eager to see the fabled city.  _No human's stepped foot in Atlantis for hundreds of years. And here I get to be the first_.

"Cool. Ready?" Chloe asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ready."

After Chloe whistled a command to Bongo, the three of them dove into the ocean depths.

Holding her breath, Max opened her eyes underwater, seeing the infinite blue stretch beyond them on all sides and tightening her grip on Bongo's fins. They dove a few meters down, before Chloe turned in the water, her brow furrowed as she gestured strangely at Max, her fingers tracing mysterious symbols in the water. The tattoos on Chloe's right arm glowed, pulsing brightly with each symbol Chloe drew, and Max shivered, sensing something beyond what she could see or comprehend coming towards her.

After several seconds, Max felt the bizarre feeling of a breeze underwater before a bubble of air clung around her mouth, and she breathed in, surprisingly cool air coursing through her lungs. Max only had a few seconds to register this strange phenomenon before she looked up and saw Chloe grimacing, clutching her chest, the glow from her tattoos fading.

Panic ran through Max's heart, and she reached forward to help Chloe—but Chloe simply turned, gritting her teeth, pointing for Max to hold onto Bongo again.

" _I'm fine,"_  Chloe mouthed, and she began to swim downwards, with Bongo obediently following.

Their party swam for some time more, but Max stared intently at Chloe's back all the while, worry etched into her thoughts.

Chloe paused in the water, pointing ahead of her; Max squinted in the ocean water and noticed the rapid flow of a current in front of them. Gritting her teeth and wrapping her arms more tightly around Bongo, Max nodded her acknowledgement, and the party dove in.

Admittedly, the fastest speed Max had ever experienced was probably the  _Blackwell_  on a particularly windy day—and that was nothing compared to how fast they were zooming through the water then. She could barely keep her eyes open against the cool blast of water that hurtled past her face, and the sharp turns and steep divers had her clinging tightly onto the poor dolphin beneath her. Ahead of her, Chloe looked at ease through the current, moving with it so fluidly that Max suddenly understood Chloe's affinity for dolphins—Bongo and her moved almost in synch, predicting the twists and turns before Max could even see them. She was thankful that she could breathe—not only was her heart hammering in her chest, but Max knew that as good at swimming as she was, holding her breath for this long and through a speeding current was something she was sure no human can do.

_No wonder Bartholomew never sent anyone to even try to swim to Atlantis—it'd be impossible._

After a few minutes of the rapid ride through the waters, Chloe and Bongo abruptly dove out of it, and Max had to regain her senses, blinking at the sudden stillness of the water around her. Chloe turned to her then—Max noticed she looked paler than usual—and pointed down ahead of them.

Squinting underwater, Max could make out in the distance several large, well-lit domes, and Max felt her mouth drop open.

 _Holy shit._   _It's…Atlantis._

Through the glass of the domes, Max could make out marvelous coral and marble structures rising to the dome's ceilings, intricate and delicate streets lined with sea rocks and minerals, and if she squinted hard enough, she could make out other Atlanteans as well, wearing close-fitting shorts, vests, or suits.

Chloe smiled thinly at her, noticing Max's awe, before she made another whistle at Bongo, and the their party moved down towards the underwater utopia.

Glancing behind her, Max was not prepared for what she was going to see—and what she saw made her heart freeze in her chest.

Along the seafloor, stretching into the dark blackness of the distance, Max could make out the silhouettes of broken, smashed, and crushed ships; an entire graveyard spread out in all directions, pieces of wood and abandoned cargo littering the seafloor. The only thing providing light, aside from Atlantis, was a glowing, dark red line in the ground that traced through the graveyard of ships. Occasionally, a spew of steam, heat, or even lava came forth from the crack in the seafloor—a dormant fault line marked the long trail of splintered ships to either side.

Max's heart clenched in her chest, and she grit her teeth, turning away from the scene, pressing her face into Bongo's side.

She remembered what Chloe had told her that day. Any ship that came close to Atlantis…got destroyed. The  _Blackwell_ …

Chloe hadn't noticed, looking ahead and guiding their party towards the city.  _Being with Chloe…I've forgotten that I still need to find out what the Prescotts are up to._   _The Grahams were right—there were a ton of ships back there, no doubt sent by the Prescotts into destruction…But why?_

Max shook her head—she could ask Chloe about this later.

They swam a little ways away past the large domes, where they came up to the entrance to an unlit narrow tunnel. Swimming through it, Max pressed herself closer to her dolphin companion, unable to see in the dimness. She could just barely make out Chloe ahead of her, uncertain if Chloe's movements were more labored and slow than before…

Eventually, light came at the end of the tunnel and their party broke through the surface of the water, and Max took a breath of air as the bubble around her mouth disappeared. Looking around the room, Max noted that their party was in a small pool on the ground, surrounded by detailed tiles on the walls and floors; the room looked like something from a fairy tale palace, and Max turned to Chloe excitedly—

The eagerness immediately dropped from Max' face as she saw Chloe slowly make her way to the edge of the pool, her breathing haggard and rough.

"Chl—"

Before Max could even react, Chloe reached the rim of the pool and she struggled to pull herself over it—before she collapsed, her body half in and half out of the water.

" _Chloe!_ "

Letting go of Bongo, Max swam to Chloe, panic racing through her heart.

"Oh, shit, oh  _shit_ ," Max breathed, looking down at Chloe's unconscious form.  _What do I do? What do I do?!_ Bongo swam over as well and began to nudge Chloe, and Max realized what Bongo wanted—pulling herself out onto the tiled surface around the pool, Max knelt down and pulled on Chloe's arms, with Bongo pushing upwards on the rest of Chloe's body.

After managing to get Chloe completely out of the water, Max held the Atlantean in her arms, fear tightening her chest. Almost mimicking her emotions, Bongo let out a soft whistle, almost forlorn, and he seemed agitated as he began to swim rapid circles in the pool.

"Chloe, Chloe, please wake up," Max whispered, hugging the Atlantean close to her, praying for a miracle.  _I shouldn't have come to Atlantis—_

Looking around, Max gritted her teeth. Despite the room's immaculate decoration, there was nothing else in it except the pool. To her left, Max saw a set of double doors, but anxiety gripped her as she realized she had no idea what lie beyond them.

_I'll be dead if another Atlantean catches me with Chloe like this._

Unable to move, but unable to think of a way to bring her friend back, Max tried to hold back her panic. Laying Chloe gently onto the tiles, Max saw the gentle rise and fall of Chloe's chest, and she felt a brief moment of relief.  _At least she's still alive._ Instinctively reaching for her bag—Max swore when she remembered she'd left her things back at the island.

Looking back up at Bongo, Max wondered if the dolphin could give her an answer on what to do, like he had before; she was at her wit's end, trapped in this room with no way out. Stepping carefully over Chloe, Max knelt by the edge of the pool, holding a hand out, unsure of what Bongo's reaction would be. The dolphin finished its circle before slowly swimming to Max, and he placed his beak in Max's hand, looking just as forlorn as before.

"What do I do, Bongo?" Max asked softly, and the dolphin just bobbed up and down in the water, his mouth opening and closing several times. "I wish I could understand you," Max whispered. "I wish I could help Chloe the same way she's helped me." Her heart aching, Max knelt there with Bongo for several moments, praying for a miracle.  _Please…let Chloe come back to me._

She heard a low groan from behind her, and Max whipped around to see Chloe propping herself up on one elbow, her other hand pressed against her temple.

" _Chloe!"_

Max threw herself at Chloe, hugging the Atlantean as tightly as she could, her face pressed into Chloe's shoulder as she tried to withhold her sobs.

"Hey, hey," Chloe said weakly, gently patting Max on the back. "I'm okay."

"You fucking scared me, Chloe," Max mumbled, pulling away and gently holding Chloe's face in her hands, trying to reassure herself that Chloe was  _real_ , was okay, was back here with her.

Always trying to make the mood lighter, Chloe just gave a weak grin in response.

"You know, a kiss would make me feel better," she mumbled, tilting her head into Max's hand, and Max just gave a breathless laugh, shaking her head.  _Unbelievable._

"C'mon, let's get you up," Max said, standing up and pulling Chloe up as well; Chloe stumbled for a second before Max caught her, putting one of Chloe's arms around her shoulders and looping her arm around Chloe's waist.

"Sure you're okay?" Max asked, worry in her voice as she saw Chloe wince and raise a hand to her head.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. That just…took more energy than I expected," she said, taking a deep breath. "We'll go to my room."

"Your room?"

Chloe took a few steps forward to the door, guiding them both away from the pool.

"Yeah. This is my place," Chloe continued, turning her head and giving a soft whistle to Bongo—who had remarkably cheered up when Chloe came to—and the dolphin bobbed up and down in the water for a moment before turning and leaving the way they came.

"What if someone sees us?" Max asked, a hint of nervousness on the edge of her voice. She was excited to see new things but she wasn't excited to be caught in what was supposedly a semi-militaristic state with an aversion for humanity.

"We're fine. Parents should be out working, anyway," Chloe said, moving forward and pushing the door open.

The two entered a similarly tiled hallway, except along the walls, Max saw several weapons encased in glass displays—a trident, a spear, a scimitar—and she shivered, remembering Chloe's remarks about the current state of Atlantis; a semi-militaristic state, constantly on the alert for any incursions from humanity.

And here she was. Walking straight into it.

On their left, the hallway extended down until it turned right, and Max glanced to their right to see the hallway end, with a door set in the wall. Chloe turned and headed towards it, and Max did her best to support Chloe on the way there.

"Hey, Chloe?"

"Yeah?"

"After this…Can we go to that ship graveyard and see if the Blackwell's still there? I want to see exactly what the Prescotts wanted us to deliver," Max said, shifting slightly as Chloe paused in front of the door.

Chloe glanced at her. "So you saw it," she sighed, "But sure. We'll have to be careful though—that place is kind of like, forbidden territory," she said, opening the door and carefully guiding them both inside.

Max's eyes widened at the room—Chloe's room—and Chloe managed to get her balance back, turning on the light in the middle of the ceiling before walking slowly over to the bed across from them and throwing herself on it, giving a contented sigh.

"That feels much better," she mumbled, burying her face into the pillows as Max closed the door and looked around.

Despite the grandeur of how large and vast Atlantis had looked on the outside, Chloe's room was almost a stark contrast—it was relatively small, much like Max's. To the right of the door was a shelf, a desk was against the middle of the right wall, a thick, glass window above it and Max could see the dark waters on the other side—opposite the desk, on the other side of the room, Max noted a closet. It looked like any other room she'd seen…

Except what surprised Max the most about Chloe's room was the sheer amount of odd collectibles and junk that lay on the shelves that lined the walls. She spotted a few things that no doubt came from human lands, combined with a mix of other things she couldn't recognize—probably things from Atlantis or other lands from the world. Quietly making her way to one shelf, Max gazed in awe at several trinkets; she saw an elaborate, bronze astrolabe, some cracked pieces of porcelain, where she could barely make out the intricately detailed dragons on them, and Max saw a much more extravagant and refined spyglass much like her own.

_No wonder Chloe wants to see the world. She literally has pieces of everywhere in her bedroom, yet can't go out and explore it._

Tearing her eyes away from Chloe's collection of things, Max joined Chloe on the bed, gently easing herself onto it. From Chloe's relaxed and steady breathing, Max figured that she was probably passed out from exertion. Rolling her eyes, Max gently raised a hand to brush the blue hair from Chloe's face.

_Oh, Chloe. The things you do…_

Max settled down next to Chloe, biting her lip as she gazed at the sleeping girl in front of her. Slowly reaching forward, Max gently eased her fingers in between Chloe's, her breath caught in her throat as her heart fluttered in her chest.

Chloe remained in her deep sleep, and Max's heart almost stopped when she heard Chloe mumble, "… _Max,"_  before her hand tightened around Max's.

Max felt a small stab of pain shoot through her heart.

 _How are we ever going to make this work?_ Sadness crossed Max's expression and she closed her eyes, trying to push away the inevitable time when she and Chloe would have to decide their future together.

_I want to be with Chloe. And I know she wants to be with me too._

_I just wish we didn't have to hide…_

* * *

She wasn't sure when she drifted off to sleep as well, before she felt a gentle shake on her shoulder.

"Max."

Max opened her eyes slowly, and she saw Chloe sitting on her bed, back against the wall. Slowly lifting herself up, Max took a moment to reorient herself with her surroundings. She noticed that Chloe's hand was still in hers, and she felt comforted at that thought.

"Have a good nap?" Max asked, settling against the wall next to Chloe, leaning her head on Chloe's shoulder.

"Yeah," Chloe said, squeezing Max's hand. "I feel a little better now too. Just a little sore, though."

Max raised an eyebrow. "Sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, no worries," Chloe smiled, and Max could tell that Chloe didn't want to press the issue further.

"If you say so. Now, what exactly did you want me to see while I was here?"

"Oh, shit, right," Chloe said, slowly sitting up. "I wanted to give you something."

"Give me what?" Max asked, as Chloe gingerly got up off the bed and began to look around at her collection of trinkets along the walls.

"It's really cool, you're gonna like it," Chloe said eagerly, pulling out a golden chain attached to a pendant from a shelf. She came back to the bed and plopped down next to Max, and Max leaned forward to get a better look at what Chloe had in her hands.

"Weird shit just happens to get to us down here in Atlantis, and I found this along the sea floor," Chloe said excitedly, handing the necklace to Max. "And check out what it is!"

Getting a closer look, Max noticed that the pendant could actually open, and a small button on the side jutted out just imperceptibly from its edge. Curious, Max pressed it—and the lid popped open, revealing the face of a beautifully crafted compass. The needle itself was a black metal, the 'N' and 'S' inscribed on its poles were in an intricate font, and the detailed ring inside had the same typographical decoration. Whoever owned this compass before had been someone of great prestige and power, and Max held her breath as she held it in her hands, gazing in awe at the value of this gift—both literally and figuratively.

"Chloe…this is beautiful," Max whispered, gently turning the compass this way and that, watching the light bring a golden shine to its edges.

"So…you like it?" Chloe asked hopefully, and Max looked up to see her biting her lip in anticipation.

"I love it," Max said softly, unclasping the metal chain and putting it around her neck.

Chloe laughed, and the brightness and joy emanating from her seemed to light up the room.

"I wanted to do something special for you after last night," she said. "But, you know, I didn't think I could top just how cheesy you were," Chloe chuckled.

Blushing furiously, Max just crossed her arms and looked away.

"You still liked it," Max mumbled, and she felt Chloe's hand on her chin, gently turning her head so they were face-to-face. Their closeness—despite all the time she'd spent with Chloe, her beauty always took Max's breath away.

"I did," Chloe murmured softly, and Max could feel her heart speeding up as Chloe leaned forward slightly, just enough so their lips brushed.

"And I love it when you sing to me," Chloe continued quietly, pressing soft kisses against Max's jawline, and Max had to remind herself to breathe, her thoughts going haywire at Chloe's intimacy.

Bringing herself back up to look back into Max's eyes, Chloe said softly, "Just as much as I love you."

Max met Chloe's lips with her own, leaning into Chloe's tender embrace, her hands coming up to run through that signature blue hair she loved so much. Their kiss grew in passion and intensity, and Max let out a small noise from the back of her throat as desire ran through her and Chloe's hands slid down her back—

The door to Chloe's room suddenly opened, and Chloe immediately jerked away, her expression suddenly turning into fear and fright at the new arrival.

Breathing hard, Max turned as well, and her heart stopped beating, the color draining from her face.

Max was looking at someone who looked intensely like Chloe.

His short blue hair was shaved close to his head, and his arm was covered in almost the same black and white tattoo that Chloe had on her own arm—except while Chloe's expression was always lighthearted and joyful, Max saw the exact opposite when she made eye contact with him. Despite the exact same blue eyes, Max felt chills run down her spine at the cold intensity she saw in his sudden, vicious glare, his furious scowl contorting his features as he took in the scene before him.

 _Admiral Will._   _Leader of the Alantean military._

_Chloe's dad._

" _This_  is why you were so late coming home last night, Chloe?" He snarled, jabbing one finger at Max, and Chloe instinctively moved in front of her.

" _Dad_ , it's not what you th—"

Before she could finish her sentence, Chloe's father swiftly took two strides into the room and roughly shoved Chloe aside before grabbing the collar of Max's shirt and almost dragging her from the bed.

Terrified at the presence of Atlantis's military leader, Max was trembling, but she nonetheless tried to loosen the man's fist around her shirt.  _I can't leave Chloe_ —

The moment she touched him, Will glared daggers down at her, cold fury written all over his face.

"Do  _not_  touch me, human," he growled ferociously, and Max felt a spark of fear run through her heart, but she steeled her resolve, opening her mouth to say something—

" _You_  are never seeing my daughter again," Will said, his eyes narrowing as Max just looked back at him, trying not to look away from his burning glare, and she swallowed, refusing to back down.

" _Dad_ , let her go!" Chloe said through gritted teeth, and she tried to get up from where she was on the ground—but winced, clutching her chest.

Gritting her teeth, Max started, "Please, just let us expl—," but before she could finish, she suddenly felt dizzy and lightheaded, her eyesight becoming hazy and unfocused. She could make out in her blurry vision that the tattoos on Will's arm were glowing, and the last thing Max saw before she blacked out was Chloe kneeling on the ground, her face contorted with pain, Will standing over her, his fist still holding firmly onto Max's collar.

 _Chloe_.

* * *

As Max slumped over, unconscious, Chloe struggled to stand up—but felt an imposing force on her body, preventing her from moving. At any other time, she would have been able to fight it—but the exertion of bringing Max here had taken its toll on her, and Chloe could do nothing but hiss through gritted teeth.

" _Let. Her. Go,"_  she snarled, forcing herself to look up into her father's eyes.

" _This. This_ is what you've been doing lately," Will said quietly, his low voice filled with unbridled fury, and he shook Max's limp body; Chloe just felt the anger in her chest rise, a raging monster that fought back with every fiber of its being against the invisible control on her.

"I love her," Chloe hissed, never breaking eye contact with him. She would make him understand. She was not losing Max. Not here. Not now. Not ever.

"And nothing you do can stop me from loving her," she finished, her voice determined, her expression stubborn and unwavering.

"Chloe,  _they_  are the enemy.  _They_  would destroy us, if they had the chance," her father said, and he continued with the same controlled voice. " _This_  one would do the same to you, if it had the chance."

" _Her_  name is  _Max_ ," Chloe shot back. "And she would never hurt me."

"That's what you think, Chloe," her father said, and she wasn't sure if she was imagining it, but she thought she heard a slight hint of sadness in his voice. "Humans aren't trustworthy," he said softly, and Chloe hated the look of pity on his face. "Look at what they've done to their own race. Wars fought over simple nothings," he said, his voice bitter. "They'll hurt you, Chloe, and everyone else in Atlantis. It's my duty to—"

"It's  _not_  your duty to take Max away from me," Chloe growled, straining against the invisible force that held her down.

"Chloe," Will said quietly, his grip on Max's shirt tightening. "I just want to protect you. I've seen what the humans have done to their world. They're greedy, selfish, arrogant. We Atlanteans are their complete opposite; we are ordered, altruistic, progressive."

"No, you're stupid, ignorant, and a shithead," Chloe spat. "You'll always see humans as monsters—but they're  _human_ ," Chloe said, her voice growing stronger. "They can change, adapt—and we haven't! We haven't changed for hundreds of years, Dad, can't you see that?" Chloe asked, her expression fierce as she looked up at her father.

Pain crossed Will's face, and he looked away, shutting his eyes tightly for a moment, pinching the bridge of his nose as he thought deeply on Chloe's words.

"It's for our own safety that we've remained like this, Chloe," he said finally, turning to her, his expression hard. "This— _Max_ —may be different from all of them, but there is still  _all_  of humanity to consider….Like the  _Prescotts_ ," Will snarled their name, as if it burned him to say it. "For all we know, she could be with them."

"Dad, Max is  _with_  us, she's been trying to figure out what the Prescotts are up to too! She's been helping me!"

Will pondered this information for a moment, chewing thoughtfully on the inside of his cheek. Chloe saw her chance to push forward—she would take any chance to convince her father that Max was nothing like the Prescotts.  _Max is ten times better than them_.

"Give them a chance, Dad," Chloe said desperately, and she managed to lift herself up an inch as hesitation flashed across Will's features. "Max showed me so much about the human world. They're getting better!"

The muscles in Will's jaw tensed, and he spoke through clenched teeth, "But they'll just go back to the way they are—violent, aggressive, and warring. I know this, Chloe. Every era of peace humanity experiences is again ended by senseless massacres and genocides."

" _Dad_ , if you would just—"

" _Enough!"_  Will barked, and Chloe felt a heavier force on her back, and she was almost slammed to the floor, her hands and knees pushing hard against the ground in an attempt to fight back against the invisible weight on her back. Chloe internally cursed her father and his much more skilled ability to control water—or rather, any liquid, like the raging blood that coursed through her body—and she felt bitter regret at never training harder to improve her own skill.

"For you, Chloe, I won't kill Max. She'll go back to her place on this world…and you," he said, his brow furrowed, his blue eyes burning into Chloe's, "You are staying here indefinitely. You will never leave Atlantis, and you will not meet Max again."

" _No!"_  Chloe cried, her heart tearing apart in her chest, each word like daggers in her back. Panic seized her very soul, fear ran through her at the thought of losing Max, of losing the one person in this world who understood her—

"I'm sorry, Chloe, but this is for your own good," Will said grimly, picking Max up in his arms and turning away from his daughter. "It's not safe to be with humanity." He added softly, "Even if Max might be an exception."

" _Fuck_  you!" Chloe shouted, her muscles straining as she fought against her father's control on her body. "You don't know  _shit—"_

Will walked through the door, Max in his arms, calling behind him, "I'm locking the door until I can find someone to guard you, day and night. Goodbye, Chloe," he finished, turning and reaching out with one hand to shut the door.

As soon as she heard the lock turn with a final click, Chloe felt the control on her body disappear, and she sank to the ground, her chest wracked with sobs, her heart ripping itself to pieces in her chest.

_You will never leave Atlantis._

The words echoed in her mind, and Chloe gritted her teeth, hands curling into fists as the raging beast inside her chest roared for retribution.

If she didn't figure out a way to break free of Atlantis, Chloe would never see Max again.

_I'm getting the fuck out of here._

Slowly standing up, her hands clenched into fists, fury written all over her face and rage in her blazing blue eyes, Chloe fueled herself with the fire in her heart.

_Whatever it takes._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A different POV! POVs might change in the next few chapters. Obviously, this chapter was written long before Episode 3, so naturally Will is OOC here. Anyway, thanks for reading, drop a review if you can!


	13. Riptide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ashly Burch, the VA for Chloe, also voices Cassie Cage from Mortal Kombat X (which I love a lot) so I thought I'd do a small tribute to Cassie here. This chapter got a bit...long...Sorry. I found it hard to go through it and edit things out while still keeping a sense of logic in this AU, but I hope you guys like it. Thanks for the reviews everyone-it means a lot to me! We're almost at the end-game of At Sea. Just hold out for a bit longer.

**CHAPTER 12: RIPTIDE**

Max's eyes snapped open, and she breathed hard for a moment, disoriented, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Underneath her cheek, Max could feel the warm sand of the beach, and further down from her, Max saw the landscape turn into green foliage rising into the hills.

_I'm…back at Arcadia._

Sitting up, Max looked around—and her heart twisted and broke in her chest as she realized Chloe wasn't with her. Her hand reached up to her neck, and she still felt the golden chain of the compass; pulling it out, Max swallowed as she gazed at its golden surface, her chest constricting as she was reminded of Chloe.

But Chloe wasn't here now.

She was alone.

" _Chloe,"_  Max choked out, and she turned towards the sea, its blue waters extending towards the horizon. Max noted the time from the sun; late afternoon. She'd returned to Arcadia Island in just a few hours—but whoever or whatever had brought her back had left, leaving her alone on the beach.

_Chloe's gone._

It'd felt like something had taken her heart and then ripped it in half.

_You are never seeing my daughter again._

Chloe's father. He'd…done something to her, made her pass out. His words reverberated in Max's mind, and she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to hold herself together.

_I will see Chloe again._

Gritting her teeth, Max fought back the tears in her eyes, trying to control the sobs that threatened to shake her chest.

Tearing her gaze away from the ocean, Max stalked towards the jungle, breathing hard as she tried to think of what to do. After everything her and Chloe had been through together, especially after last night, Max refused to believe that she would never see Chloe again.

 _I'm not going to lose her_ , Max thought fiercely.  _There has to be a way to prove to the Atlanteans that they can trust me_.

_Because, maybe then, they'll let me see Chloe again._

Max made her way through the brambles, pushing aside low branches and ducking underneath hanging vines. She reached up with one hand to grip the compass around her neck, and she found strength in it.

_The Prescotts. If I can figure out what they're planning and stop it, they'll have to trust me—they'll have to see I'm on their side._

After heading back to the cave to retrieve her bag and things—she tried to ignore just how empty the cave felt—Max decided on her next course of action.

_Kate._

The determination in Max's heart growing, by the time she reached the rafts that would help her cross the marshes, she was breathing hard, her expression fierce.

When she reached the floating church, Max took a deep breath in an attempt to control her erratic thoughts.

_This is going to be crazy. But I have to do it._

Max knocked on the entrance, waited for an impatient second, before opening the door and taking a step inside. Once her vision adjusted, Max saw Kate standing in front of the altar, holding a bouquet of white flowers, her expression turning to surprise as Max hurriedly sprinted down the apse towards her.

"Max? Are you okay?" Kate asked worriedly, looking at Max's haggard appearance, noticing the haunted look in Max's eyes.

"Kate, I need you to help me with something," Max asked, her voice strangely hollow—and she swallowed, trying to appear more composed.

"What is it?" Kate asked, carefully putting the bouquet of flowers on the altar before turning to Max, her expression concerned. "Max, you look like you've just seen a ghost, are you sure you—"

"Kate, please, just hear me out, okay?" Max breathed, putting her hand on Kate's back and moving them towards the pew closest to them.

"Okay, Max," Kate said, though she sounded slightly unhappy, clasping her hands in her lap.

"Kate, I need you to help me break into the Prescott Labs."

* * *

Chloe swore under her breath for the umpteenth time as the lock refused to budge, regardless of how much she moved the pick around on the inside. She swallowed, a bead of sweat on her brow as she tried to concentrate—her left arm was starting to burn from the amount of time she'd spent holding the torsion wrench in place; this didn't count the time that she struggled to get her side of the door knob off before looking at the lock mechanism inside.

_Fucking locks._

Chloe's expertise in lockpicking was remedial at best, but after some time, she'd heard the satisfying click of four pins being lifted; but now she was struggling to find the last, fifth pin to click into place. Once she did that, the lock would open—and she'd be free.

_And one step closer to Max._

Reaching up and wiping her forehead with her right hand, Chloe adjusted the pick in her hand and reached forward into the lock again for another attempt. She would kneel by her door for as long as it took to unlock it; anything would be worth seeing Max again.

_I'm getting out of here. Whatever it fucking takes._

* * *

"Max, this is crazy," Kate whispered as the two of them slowly moved through the brush that surrounded the Prescott estate.

Though the elaborately detailed wrought iron fence that surrounded the estate, Max saw the gigantic mansion—and next to it, several smaller buildings.  _There. The labs._

The Prescotts enjoyed having all of their property and holdings in one central place; not only did it allow close surveillance of their workers, but it allowed them tight control over what came in and out.

Which meant sneaking in would be close to almost impossible.

_Or so they think._

Evening was setting in, the sun falling below the horizon, and the dark shadows of the foliage around them provided them some cover as the two of them gazed out at the estate.

"I know, Kate, but I need to at least try," Max muttered, her eyes narrowing as she followed the path of two guards as they walked around the property. She instinctively reached up for the compass around her neck again, finding it to be a source of strength and courage—a reminder of who she was doing this for.

"Max, seriously, we shouldn't try and anger the Atlanteans anymore than you already have," Kate said under her breath, but her gaze never looked away from the guards as well.

"Kate, you don't have to get involved. Just stay here on lookout and I'll go in," Max said quietly, taking her hand away from the compass, muscles braced for the moment the guards would disappear around the back of the Prescott mansion. Max adjusted the shoulder strap of her bag, and she noticed that her hands were trembling.  _Now's not the time for that, Max. Be brave._

Glancing to the right of the mansion, Max saw the lights of the lab turn on in the windows— _Brooke's in there._   _She can tell me what they Prescotts are doing._

"What if they're not even planning anything, Max?" Kate asked, looking at Max with concern and worry on her face. "What if this is all just for nothing?  _What if you get caught?"_

Max gritted her teeth. As much as she hated to admit it, Kate's suspicions weren't unfounded. It could totally be possible the Prescotts weren't doing anything and somehow Max's paranoia had reached an all time high.

Shaking her head, Max never tore her gaze away from the two guards, who'd stopped to pause for a brief moment as they looked around.

"No, Kate, I  _know_  they're up to something. I can feel it," she whispered. "And my gut instinct's never been wrong."

 _C'mon. Just move around to the back of the mansion._  The guards were just standing there, having an idle conversation, and Max felt the irritation in her rise. The longer the guards delayed, the longer it would take for Max to see Chloe again.

"I hope you're right, Max," Kate said quietly, "I don't know what I'd do if you got sent to prison for breaking and entering." There was a hint of sarcasm to Kate's voice, and Max sensed that Kate was unwilling to see her go through such drastic measures to gain the Atlanteans' trust.

"Kate, I'm gonna be fine," Max said, looking away from the guards and gently placing a hand on Kate's shoulder. "I just need to talk to Brooke for a few minutes, and then I'll be out before the guards can finish their lap around the mansion."

Kate bit her lip, hesitation across her face, concern for her friend warring with her fear of punishment from the Prescotts.

"I trust you, Max," Kate whispered.

* * *

_Fucking finally!_

The fifth pin shifted upwards, and a look of excitement crossed Chloe's face as she gently removed the wrench and pick from the lock.

Swallowing, her heart pounding in her chest, Chloe silently pulled down on the door handle, just barely opening the door and peeking around outside.

Through the slit in the door, Chloe could see just one guard stationed outside, his expression bored as he leaned against the wall next to her room. Chloe gently closed the door again, and she knelt on the ground for a moment, pondering her options.

One of the benefits of being the daughter of  _the_  military leader of Atlantis granted Chloe the ability, from a young age, to learn about combat. Though Chloe was well-versed in the weapons that hung in the hallway, she preferred her bare fists when she was sparring. Admittedly, it was exciting to wield a sword as well, but there was something so much more  _solid_  and  _real_  when she used her own brute strength as both an offense and defense. It was one of the reasons Chloe had always come close to human proximity; if one tried to attack her, she could easily take them out, no effort on her part needed.

Her physical training had taken greater priority for her over her training that would allow her greater ability to control water—Chloe had dismissed it then, believing that hand-to-hand combat was always the best way to settle things. She cursed herself for her own stupidity, but shook her head when she thought back to the task at hand.

Chloe walked around her room for a moment, searching for the tactical baton she kept handy in her room. In case her fists weren't enough of a punch, Chloe's favorite weapon of choice was her tactical, retractable, baton, a lethal, metal stick that could slam her enemies with a ton of physical force. Gripping it in her hand, Chloe felt the familiar metal in between her fingers, determination filling her as she quietly walked back to the door and put the baton in her pocket.

Breathing deeply, Chloe prepared herself for what would occur in the next thirty seconds.  _Sorry, dude, but prepared to get your ass whooped._

Open the door, wide. Get his attention.

He'll turn, surprised.

Take two steps forward, swinging right fist at the side of his head.

Should knock him out cold. If not, take his head while he's disoriented. Smash into knee.

If still conscious, take a step back. Wield baton. Slam into head, going right. Then slam into head going left. Uppercut with free fist.

That should be more than enough.

Chloe took one more moment to collect herself, before she threw the door open.

The guard turned, eyebrows raised in surprise—before Chloe's fist slammed into the side of his head, and he stumbled away from the force of the impact.

Chloe gave him no reprieve, the fire in her eyes burning. As the guard was doubled over, Chloe took his head between her hands and then thrust her knee upward as she threw his head downward, and she heard his nose break at the impact of his face colliding into her knee, blood spurting out onto the ground.

"Wh—," he managed to choke out before Chloe whipped her baton from her pocket, and holding it in her left hand, Chloe twisted her upper torso, throwing as much momentum and strength as she could as the baton collided into the guard's head, and he smashed into the wall before slumping to the ground, unconscious, blood running from his nose and down his mouth.

"I expected better," Chloe muttered, shortening her baton again and placing it in her pocket.  _You'd think my dad could find better security._

She put her hands underneath the guard's arms and dragged his body into her room, placing him against her bed. She then closed the door and made her way back to the pool room.

_I'm on my way, Max._

* * *

The second the guards turned around the corner of the mansion, Max dashed forward, jumping up and gripping the top of the iron fence, quickly climbing up it and carefully avoiding the jutting metal spikes before she lightly jumped down on the other side, performing a slight roll to lessen the impact. Years of climbing the ship masts had granted her an ability to easily climb, and Max was thankful for her times at sea.

Over the fence, in the shrubs, Kate just burrowed into the bushes, gazing out between the leaves and branches. She nodded when Max looked over to confirm she was in the clear, and Max sprinted as hard as she could towards the labs.

There was virtually nothing but plain grass in between the fence and the cluster of buildings next to the mansion, and she prayed Kate had checked everything for any sign of anyone who might see her. Pushing herself to the limit, Max skidded to a halt in front of the lab door, breathing hard, her eyes darting everywhere for some hidden trap device.

_Can never be too sure of what the Prescotts might set up._

Glancing back at where Kate was, she saw a small hand raise a thumbs-up. Max nodded.

Pushing her back against the wall, Max carefully moved along it.  _Going through the front door would be a bad idea. I need to find out if Brooke's in there—and if she's alone._

She got to the edge of the wall, close to the corner—she snuck a quick peek around it, saw no one was on the other side, and quickly shifted to that wall before stealthily making her way to a window. Holding her breath, Max carefully looked inside—she saw Brooke sitting at a table by herself, her face buried in her hands, surrounded by numerous shelves and cabinets along the walls filled with various metal contraptions and tools.

_She's by herself. That's good, at least._

Swallowing, Max raised a hand and gently rapped the window.

Brooke immediately looked up, surprise and shock written on top of her tired, exhausted face, and Max felt sorrow for Brooke's suffering. Whatever Brooke was going through was taking its toll, and Max saw premature aging lines on her forehead, a few gray hairs poking out from her hair, in that same rough ponytail that she'd seen at the festival.

Brooke dragged herself from the stool to the window and opened it, her mouth simply open as she took in Max standing there.

" _Max?"_  She whispered, almost as if she couldn't believe Max were real.

"Brooke, quick, let me in. We need to talk," Max said quickly, glancing around and praying that none of the guards would come. Since she'd turned around the building, Max no longer had the ability to contact Kate.

Brooke bit her lip, hesitation written across her face, but she quickly opened the window wider, and Max carefully stepped inside; the moment she got through, Brooke closed the window.

"What are you doing here, Max?" Brooke asked, but then she shook her head and went back to the table, sitting down in a chair again.

"Never mind. It doesn't matter. Nothing matters anymore," she whispered, crossing her arms on the table and putting her face into it. "Nothing matters."

"Brooke, please, you need to tell me what the Prescotts are planning," Max breathed, standing next to her and putting a hand gently on her back. "Brooke, I know you're tired, and you're exhausted, but please, I need to know," Max said urgently.

"It doesn't matter, Max. It's too late."

"Too late for what?"

Brooke brought her face back up from her arms, and Max saw just how bloodshot her eyes looked, how weary and drained her face was.

"Behind me, on the top part of the shelf. Pull out that map."

Max did as she was told, spreading the map out on the table—on the right side, she saw a detailed depiction of Arcadia Island. To the left of it extended the Pacific Ocean…the western waters. She was given a topographical view of the seas, and she spotted the fault line that lie next to Atlantis, along with other various land formations and canyons that lie in the ocean.

"What is it?"

"Max. Look," Brooke pointed towards Arcadia's port, and Max saw dotted lines leading from the pier…to the boundaries of Atlantis.

"These…are the Prescott shipping records," Max breathed, realization washing over her.

"The ship routes…They're all leading west," Max said, remembering what the Grahams had told her, and she traced one route in particular—the  _Blackwell's_. "The Prescotts keep sending ships west, but they all get decimated—," and Max trailed her finger along the dormant fault line, recalling the ship graveyard she'd seen.

"Precisely," Brooke said, giving a tired nod. "But do you know what they send with the ships, Max? Do you know what those  _sick_  bastards made me create, what they made me do?" Her voice broke at the end, and a sob shook Brooke's chest, and she buried her face in her arms again.

* * *

Chloe whistled for Bongo as soon as she was in the water, and he returned to her immediately, looking eager and excited for another adventure.

 _"It's good to see you too,"_  Chloe whistled to her dolphin friend as he swam circles around her.

" _Where go now? Where go?"_  Bongo asked eagerly.

" _To Max."_

Bongo bobbed up and down in affirmation, and began swimming away towards the currents that would bring them back to Arcadia Island—but Chloe paused on the way there, gazing out at the ever-present ship graveyard that littered the ocean floor in front of Atlantis.

_Max wanted to go there…_

Chloe clicked at Bongo, and he curiously turned around and came close to her.

" _Bongo, we need to go check out the graveyard again."_

Bongo flapped his flippers.

" _Find more treasures?"_  He asked. Chloe had always appreciated Bongo's ability to use his more refined echolocation to locate small treasures that came from the shipwrecks. Naturally, her father hadn't been excited that she'd gone to explore the ruins of manmade contraptions, but like always, Chloe disobeyed him, her curiosity drawing her to what wonders man brought with him to the sea.

" _No. Find a ship—the Blackwell."_

Bongo bobbed up and down again, before turning and diving down to the wreckage ahead. Chloe swam after him, ears and eyes alert for any Atlanteans who might try and bring her back—though she knew the guard that had been posted in front of her room would be out cold for a while, that didn't mean there couldn't be more guards around the perimeter of Atlantis.

Swimming close to the ocean floor, following the glowing red fault line, Chloe and Bongo swam through the broken halves and pieces of colossal wooden ships, their masts protruding from the sand like giant wooden claws. Every now and then, Chloe spotted a skeleton, its ragged clothes floating around its white bones. Occasionally, the pair would have to dodge a steam vent—despite its long time dormant state, the heat from the fault line still provided energy for Atlantis.

Bongo and her traveled for some time, with Bongo releasing a whistle every now and then to guide them—eventually, the two came upon a wreckage not as old as the rest, with no mold or moss along its wooden beams and walls.

 _"Ship,"_  Bongo said, swimming around her. " _Don't feel safe here."_  He swam in agitated circles around her.

_If Bongo doesn't feel safe here…Then…_

Chloe looked around the site, and she spotted what she was looking for—a crate with red letters painted onto its side.  _Prescott._

Swimming closer to it, Chloe swore when she saw the large bolts keeping the crate intact. She tried to lift it, but noticed that the box seemed firmly clamped onto the ocean floor—something was holding it down, and she guessed that whatever was inside was either incredibly heavy, or it had dug into the sea floor, planting itself there.  _Damn it. Can't open it like this, and it's stuck on the ground._

_"Bongo, find more boxes like this—but older."_

Bongo swam away, and while Chloe waited for him, she did her best to hack at the wooden crate, trying to use her baton as a lever to pry apart the boards; growling in frustration at her lack of progress, Chloe was just about to just start throwing punches at it when Bongo returned.

" _Found old box. Falling apart."_

Chloe followed Bongo to a moss-covered wooden crate, and she easily broke apart the old boards that held it together—her heart froze when she saw what was inside.

Her hand shaking, Chloe picked up one of the metallic, silver canisters that filled the box. Glancing at the label on them told her enough.

 _Dynamite._  Explosives.

_But you can't light these underwater. What's the point of these explosives?_

Looking up, Chloe saw more and more of the crates scattered across the sea floor, some hazardously close to the fault line.

_But even if they're close to the fault line, there's nowhere near enough heat to blow any of these canisters up, unless one just happened to fall straight into a steam vent…And none of them can, since they're in these giant crates._

Puzzled, Chloe carefully placed the canister back in the box and then swam back over to the  _Blackwell_ , with Bongo close behind.

Something was different about the size of the cargo that the  _Blackwell_  had, however; whereas the crates with the canisters had been in tight, compact cubes, the cargo that the Blackwell had was more rectangular, larger, and far heavier.

 _I need to figure out a way to open this piece of shit._ Chloe glared at the nigh impenetrable crate, its infuriating red  _Prescott_  label just glowering back at her. The metal bolts were what kept the crate secured, and Chloe slammed her fist into the flat palm of her other hand, trying to figure out a way to open it.

_I'll need help to do this._

" _Bongo, how should I open the box?"_

Bongo shook himself. " _Do not feel good about opening box. Not safe."_

Chloe just let out an exasperated breath underwater.

" _Bongo, this is important. I need to open it."_

Pausing in the water for a moment, Bongo considered Chloe's words.

" _Wait here. I come back."_  With that, Bongo turned and darted away, leaving Chloe to continue glaring at the box, as if she could just magically will it to open.

It was sometime later when Bongo returned, with two smooth hammerhead sharks behind him; one was colored a darker gray than the other.

" _Friends of Bongo. They help break box."_

Chloe just raised an eyebrow.

" _Sharks want to help a dolphin and an Atlantean? What do you guys get out of this?"_

The darker gray one spoke up, his language rough and accent almost impossible for Chloe to understand, and she had to strain to understand the shark language.

" _We sharks get bad feeling about this place. All sharks want to learn more about what human do. We help find out."_

" _You're not going to eat Bongo or me, right?"_  Though Chloe could see they were each about six to seven feet in length, small as sharks went, she didn't doubt either one could shred her to pieces if they wanted to.

The lighter gray was the one who responded, " _Atlantean and dolphin not taste very good. Prefer other fish—you and the dolphin are safe, Atlantean."_

" _Okay, that's cool,"_  Chloe said, rolling her eyes. How those sharks knew that Atlantean and dolphin didn't taste good was none of her business. " _Can you open the box?"_

The sharks swam around the box in circles, studying it.

" _Can try to chomp at wood. Take pieces out, hope to weaken box enough so you can pull at it too_ ,"the darker gray shark said thoughtfully.

Chloe nodded in agreement with the plan, and her Bongo stayed a little way away while the sharks hacked at the box with furious bites and snaps as they tore at the wood on the sides of the crate.

Chloe waited with bated breath, and soon enough, the two sharks had managed to shred the sides of the crate to splinters, giving Chloe the chance to pull upward on the remaining pieces of wood that were the top.

The sharks swam around her, and she could suddenly see all three of her sea companions were agitated.

" _Atlantean, this human box—it is not good. It is not good at all,"_  the lighter gray shark said, her voice full of apprehension.

Looking back down at the contraption that lay underneath the wood she pulled away, Chloe's heart pounded loudly in her chest, and she floated there, frozen with sudden realization.

_It's…It's the same thing that I saw at the festival with Max._

Chloe remembered what the Prescotts had said that day.

" _It can store energy and power for long amounts of time—and when need be, release it_." That's what Bradley had said then. The way he'd phrased it—Chloe had interpreted it as some form of portable energy source, but now she realized what Bradley had been saying.

She recalled something Max had said a long time ago.

" _I don't think you can light bombs underwater, Chloe."_

The blood in Chloe's heart ran cold when she put it together.

She began to slowly swim backwards, away from the contraption, the cold tendrils of fear and horror reaching through her chest.

Turning to her companions, who were still swimming in nervous circles around her, Chloe shakily told them her discovery.

" _The Prescotts…The boxes, they're—"_

* * *

"—giant bombs, Max," Brooke sobbed, holding her face in her hands. "Those bombs have enough energy to have an almost one hundred meter wide blast radius."

Max just stood there, frozen, staring at the map, her hands shaking as she stared down at the fault line.

"And all the ships that the Prescotts sent before. They were just planting the dynamite there," she whispered.

"The bombs that were on the  _Blackwell_ —they can detonate, and then cause a chain reaction along the fault line," Brooke said in between her sobs.

"And if the bombs and dynamite detonate along the dormant fault line," Max almost couldn't continue, filled with horror at what she was learning. "The fault line will come to life—"

"Which will cause enough seismic activity to essentially destroy wherever Atlantis is, or cause a large enough lava flow that it'll overrun Atlantis," Brooke finished, leaning back in her chair, her expression haggard and worn.

"And the Atlanteans'…greatest weakness is heat," Max whispered.

Brooke just nodded, slumped in her chair, defeat written across her face.

"Either way, the Atlanteans are stuck between a rock and a hard spot—the Prescotts will detonate the bombs that were on the  _Blackwell_  unless the Atlanteans agree to work for them again," she said tiredly, wiping tears from her eyes. "Either way, I helped them do it—I will have helped them enslave an entire race or commit genocide, Max," she said, her voice breaking.

"Can't we move the bombs, or something?" Max asked desperately, trying to figure out a way to prevent the catastrophe from happening.

"No—once the box hits the ocean floor, it automatically knows to dig its legs into the ground, permanently rooting itself there. It would take a hundred men just to pry one from the ground," Brooke said, shaking her head. " _It's too late, Max._ There's nothing we can do now."

"No, no, no, Brooke! You have to tell me how to stop this, there has to be some kind of stop code—" Max said, distraught, and she firmly took a hold of Brooke's shoulders, shaking her slightly in an attempt to bring Brooke back to the light. "There has to be something—"

Brooke just shook her head again. "The only way to stop this would be to get the remote that detonates the bombs. But Bradley gave it to Nathan—and you know Nathan," Brooke said, looking up into Max's face with weary, tearful eyes. "You'll be dead if you even try to get close to him."

"Brooke, I'm sure with time I can figure something o—"

" _Max,_  don't you understand?!  _It's too late!"_  Brooke cried, standing up, her hands clenched into fists, furious tears of despair in her eyes.

" _Why_ —"

Before Max could finish her sentence, the door on the opposite side of the room burst open.

_No, no, not now—_

Nathan Prescott stood in the doorway, flanked by the two guards Max had seen patrolling earlier.

The second her and Nathan made eye contact, Max felt a cold chill run down her spine—Nathan's eyes were devoid of humanity, his expression contorting into fury as he took in Max's presence.

"What the  _fuck_  are you doing here?!" He snarled, stomping into the room, glaring from Brooke to Max—next to Max, Brooke gave a small squeak of fear, backing up and cowering against the cabinets.

" _Shit_ ," Max breathed—the two guards were blocking the door, and there wouldn't be enough time for her to run to the window and open it  _and_  get out—Max was trapped.

 _No. No. I'm not going to let it end like this—I have to stop them_!

Just as Max decided that she would try and barrel through the two guards at the door, Nathan stood across from her at the table, noticing her attempt to flee.

" _You're_  not going anywhere," he growled, and before Max could take one step, he whipped out a revolver from his back pocket, pointing it straight at Max's chest.

"Unless you want to die, you're staying right there," Nathan spat, and he nodded at the two guards to grab both her and Brooke. "Brooke, whatever the fuck you told her—you and your family are dead," he sneered, and Max glared daggers as the guards roughly bound her arms with rope. Brooke's only response was to give a choked cry of pain, and she looked at Nathan with such an amount of suffering on her face that he actually burst out laughing.

"You're a heartless monster, Nathan," Max said through clenched teeth, filled with fury. "You're going to hold the entire city of Atlantis hostage—and  _for what?!_ Some glory, some fame? You're rich already, why would—"

"Shut the fuck up!" Nathan barked, threateningly pulling back the safety on the revolver, its barrel still pointed directly at Max's heart. Next to her, Brooke was repressing the sobs that shook her chest as the other guard bound her arms as well.

"They have something that we want," he barked, and he gestured for the guards to follow him out of the building, roughly pushing Max and Brooke in front of them. As they made their way through the front lawn, Max looked up in time to see Victoria Chase and her friends behind her, all of them frozen in the doorway of the mansion—Victoria's eyes darted from Max, to Brooke, and then to Nathan, taking in the scene before her.

"Victoria, get the fuck back inside," Nathan hollered, and Victoria made eye contact with Max for a split second—and Max wasn't sure if she was imagining it, but she thought she saw Victoria give her a nod—before her face turned into a scowl, and she turned around to say something to Taylor and Courtney.

"Anyway, as I was fucking saying," Nathan said, giving another sharp jab of his gun at Max's back, prodding her forward to a small building in the corner of the estate. Behind them, Brooke was sobbing quietly, with the two guards following close behind.

"Once my family gets what is  _rightfully_  ours, we'll control the entire Pacific," Nathan continued, and he reached around Max to open the door to the small building. Though the evening had settled in, Max had to blink as her vision adjusted to the darkness of the room—before she could comprehend where she was however, Nathan roughly pushed her forward again as he reached out and turned on a small lantern that was on a table to the right of the door.

Max's heart ran cold—there were several prison cells branching off from the main room she was in, and her heart pounded in her chest as she realized what Nathan was going to do to her and Brooke.

"Of course, not like you're gonna be there to see it," Nathan sneered. "You're gonna be stuck in this little prison here with Brooke." With that, Max was shoved forward into a cell, and she whipped around to see Nathan lock the door. Next to her, Brooke stumbled into her own cell, the guards locking her door as well.

"When my dad and I come back from our trip to Atlantis tomorrow morning, you're gonna fucking get it, Caulfield," Nathan said, his voice full of contempt.

"No one's seen an Atlantean for centuries, dumbass," Max hissed, seething with rage as she whipped around to furiously glare at Nathan's face. "How're you going to enslave an entire population that you've never seen?"

"I'm pretty sure some warning explosions will catch their eye," Nathan drawled, and he twirled the loop of keys on his finger. "Once they see the small explosions—oh, they'll come and meet me and my dad…if they don't want the big explosions," Nathan laughed, his voice cold and devoid of humanity, full of a sadistic edge that sent a chill down Max's spine.

"You're an asshole, Nathan," Max snarled, fighting against the ropes that bound her wrists. "The storms will destroy you when you get out there—"

Nathan laughed, a cruel sound that set Max's teeth on edge. "Oh, I doubt that. We're going on the toughest ironclad ship in existence—it's invincible, and no little storm is going to sink it." He waved a hand dismissively, gesturing to one of the guards to stay put and look after Max and Brooke.

"Of course, if  _someone_  had figured out how to amplify the signal from the remote and make a goddamn giant sound transmitter, we wouldn't even need to use the ship," Nathan said accusingly, glaring at Brooke, who was huddled against the wall of her cell. "But  _no_ , she says, it's too hard," Nathan said under his breath, glaring at Brooke's hunched form. "Could've fucking done all of this bullshit from my room if it weren't for this stupid idiot."

Brooke said nothing, just putting her face into her knees, tightening her arms around her legs.

"Fuck yourself, Nathan," Max spat, leaning as close as she could against the iron bars that separated her and her enemy; but Nathan just laughed derisively again, putting his revolver back in his pocket. He came closer to her, his alcoholic breath coming into Max's face, but she refused to look away.

Nathan's eyes darted down at the compass around Max's neck, and Max realized her mistake too late—before she could pull away, Nathan roughly grabbed it and tore it from Max's neck, the golden chain links burning her skin as the chain snapped.

"Wow, cool compass you got here," Nathan grinned sadistically, as he popped open the lid, "I'll use it when I'm sailing on the  _Prescott_  tomorrow." He closed the lid and pocketed it, and Max wanted nothing more than to set him on fire—being torn away from Chloe's gift to her twisted her heart and gut, and her vision went red as fury overwhelmed her senses.

"I'm gonna get the fuck out of here and stop you, you asshole," she hissed, glaring at Nathan with all the rage she could muster.

"Yeah,  _what_ ever, Max Shitfield." And with that, Nathan turned and left the prison with one of the guards, tossing the loop of keys to the other guard, who sat down by a chair next to the table. The only source of light in the room was the tiny window in each of the cells and the lantern by the guard, leaving the room almost as dark as the tumult of chaotic emotions in Max's chest.

Despite all her bravado in front of Nathan, Max felt despair clinging to her insides. She was positive Kate had seen her being placed inside the prison, and she gritted her teeth—she was also sure that the Prescotts would amp up their security on the grounds, making a rescue mission from Kate impossible.

And losing the compass…that's what devastated her most.

Chloe's gift to Max, being used to destroy her and her people.

Tears came to Max's eyes, and she slowly slid down the prison wall, choking back the sobs that came to her as hopelessness and anguish tore at the inside of her chest, climbing up her throat, pain wracking her entire body and soul.

Max wasn't sure how long she sat there against the cold stone wall—neither the guard nor Brooke said anything, the silence only interrupted by Max's sobs, but eventually darkness settled outside, and Max saw nothing but blackness outside the small prison window.

She didn't even bother fighting against the ropes that bound her wrists—at that point, Max couldn't figure out a way to escape. Slowly giving into her despair, Max stopped crying, a feeling of numbness passing over her heart and mind. An infinite amount of time seemed to pass, and eventually Max found herself curling up on the cold ground, wishing for nothing more than to cease existing. She began to drift into an uncomfortable sleep…

Suddenly, a sharp knock was heard on the door of the prison, and the guard looked up, an eyebrow raised at the late visitor.

The guard got up, and he opened the door.

"Oh, did you nee—"

The guard's words were suddenly cut short when the visitor punched him hard, in the throat—as he doubled over, gasping for air, the visitor swung around, landing a steel-toed boot against the side of his head. The guard fell to the floor, unconscious, and the visitor reached down and grabbed the keys from the man's belt.

Max and Brooke both stared at their savior, their mouths agape with shock.

Standing in front of them, her short blonde hair clean and tidy despite her short brawl, Victoria Chase looked down at Max, her expression fierce and her eyes blazing.

"I'm breaking you out."


	14. A Furious Chase

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I haven't updated, but I've been in the midst of a finals and preparing for summer. I hope you guys like this chapter-I hope to have the next one up and going soon! Thanks for sticking with me, and thanks to all of your reviews as well. To the one person who asked if there'd be a sequel to At Sea...there won't be a sequel, I'm sorry. Once you see the ending, you'll see why. And as much as I love At Sea, there are other AUs I have in mind.
> 
> I love all the reviews you guys leave behind, really. I reread them all the time--it really motivates me. 
> 
> And you're all free to message me on tumblr as well. Since you guys are such great fans, I'll do my best to keep in contact/talk to you guys more, lol, both on here, FF.net, and tumblr.

 

**CHAPTER 13: A FURIOUS CHASE**

After her discovery, Chloe swam back to Atlantis as fast as she could, panic and fear gripping her heart. Despite the trouble she knew she would be in, she knew she needed to warn her father of what the Prescotts were planning.

She hurriedly dragged herself from the pool, throwing open the door and instead of turning right to her room, she turned left, sprinting down the hallway towards her father's war room. Skidding around the corner, Chloe made a mad dash toward the ornate set of double doors at the end of the hallway, her lungs burning as she pushed herself to the limit.

_I have to convince him to do something—we have to get the bombs out somehow!_

In the back of Chloe's mind, she hoped that by revealing the Prescotts' plan to her father would somehow redeem Max in his eyes; she didn't know how, but maybe by doing this one thing for her father would convince him to trust her and to give her and Max a chance…

Chloe collided through the doors, skidding to a halt in the war room—directly ahead, Chloe saw her father and his second-in-command, Madsen, leaning over a map of the ocean that lie on the vast marble table before them. They both looked up at her sudden appearance—Will's face turned to surprise while Madsen immediately looked irritated.

"Chloe, what—"

"Dad—Dad, you have to hear me out," Chloe panted, bending over, her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath and recollect her thoughts.

"How did you get out of—"

"Dad, the Prescotts have bombs," she blurted, and she looked up, trying convey the urgency and panic she felt. Will's eyes narrowed, but before he could speak, Madsen spoke up.

" _You_  should be in your room, Chloe," Madsen barked, scowling, but Will raised a hand, and Madsen bit back his next retort.

"Continue," Will directed at Chloe.

"So I picked the lock to my room and knocked out the guard and left Atlantis to go see Max again but I went to the ship graveyard instead and I know you said I shouldn't go there," Chloe said in a rush. "But I went there anyways because Max and I were gonna go see what the Prescotts are doing sending ships out here and I found their cargo—Dad,the ships were carrying  _dynamite_  and  _bombs_!" Chloe cried, her hands clenching into fists as she stood across the table across from the two men. Will and Madsen looked at each other before Chloe managed to take a deep breath and speak again.

"I don't know how, but they're gonna blow the bombs up somehow but if the bombs blow up—"

Will's expression suddenly turned to realization. "The bombs will detonate the dynamite, which will cause the fault line to turn unstable," he whispered.

"You're gonna trust her word on this, Admiral?!" Madsen said incredulously, looking from father to daughter. "She literally disobeyed  _all_  of your commands, and yet—"

"Madsen, calm yourself," Will said firmly, turning to his second-in-command, his expression stern. "I will punish Chloe in time—"

" _What?_  Dad, are you serious? We have more important shit to worry about!" Chloe interrupted, slamming her hands on the table, her irritation rising.

"Chloe, I believe you," Will spoke up, raising a hand to stop Madsen and Chloe from interrupting again. "I'm not stupid, Chloe. Seeing as to how you broke out from your room, it makes sense that you'd go back to Arcadia Island—yet, you came back here, to me," he continued, looking Chloe right in the eyes. "You knowingly came back to me with the fact that you disobeyed my orders and that you, most likely, would be punished for doing so. The only plausible explanation as to why my rebellious daughter would come back to Atlantis is because—"

"I'm telling the truth," Chloe finished, and Will nodded, a small smile on his face.

"And because I myself have gone out to explore the leftover cargo from the wrecked ships," Will said, turning and looking at the map before them, running a finger down the fault line, reaching the other hand up to run through his short blue hair. "I saw the dynamite in boxes, but I simply believed the Prescotts were making some weak attempt to somehow get the dynamite into a steam vent…Chloe, explain the bombs," Will commanded.

Chloe quickly detailed out what she'd gleaned from her time at the human festival—Will had raised an eyebrow at that, and Madsen scowled harder than ever—and then she went into how her, Bongo, and the two sharks had managed to pry open the cargo from the  _Blackwell._

"I did not explore the most recent shipwreck," Will muttered, his brow furrowed as he pondered this new information.

" _If_  what she's saying is true, and we can't remove the bombs, then we need to remove the dynamite," Madsen huffed, crossing his arms.

"You're right," Will said, straightening up and turning to Madsen. "Gather the people we have to go out and start removing the dynamite as fast as possible." Madsen gave a stiff nod and salute before turning and leaving the room—he shot a glare at Chloe before closing the door to the war room.

"We need to watch the seas more carefully," Will muttered, turning to the map again. "They could bring more ships with more bombs…and dynamite," he continued quietly, and Chloe was unsure if he was talking to himself or to her. After a moment, Will seemed to resolve some kind of inner conflict as his expression turned determined. "I'll need to lessen the effect of the storm generator—I think it's time that we Atlanteans define our place in the world."

Unsure of what that meant, Chloe spoke up. "So…what do you mean?"

Will turned to her. "Any ship that comes close to Atlantis—we're going to personally board it instead of letting the storms destroy it. We need to ensure that no other bombs or dynamite hits the sea floor."

Chloe just nodded slowly, but she suddenly realized that she'd focused her father's attention on her. She fidgeted under his gaze, and said nothing. As much as she hated her father for taking Max away from her, Chloe still knew that her father cared for her. And considering he'd promised to leave Max alive…As much as she hated to admit it, Chloe still loved her father too.  _As much as I hate to admit it, I know he just…wants what's best for me._   _Even though he doesn't always know what it is._

"Thank you for telling me this information so soon, Chloe," Will said, after a moment of silence. His expression softened as he noticed the small scowl on Chloe's face, and he put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"So…what are you gonna do to me now? Lock me up again?" Chloe said under her breath, but she didn't move away from his touch.

Will shook his head, and Chloe couldn't resist raising an eyebrow.  _That's not what I expected._

"You were brave to come back, but you are my daughter," he chuckled. "But now, I also have a mission for you," he said, his expression turning serious, and Chloe pulled away slightly, nervousness shooting through her heart.

"Go back to Arcadia Island—find your…Max, again, and find out when and how the Prescotts are detonating the bombs," he said, and Chloe felt her heart leap in her chest.

"Wait, you're letting me go?" She asked unable to believe what she was hearing.

"You're clearly resourceful enough to break out of a locked room  _and_ knock out one of my top men," Will said, ruffling Chloe's hair, and Chloe couldn't help but smile. "I admit I may…be wrong, about the humans," Will confessed, "Our relations with the Marshes have been ongoing for centuries, and they have been nothing but amiable and kind—it might be possible to believe that this Max might be the same."

He raised a hand, however, when Chloe made to speak. "I admit, I may have overreacted when I saw you and Max together; but you know a human hasn't set foot in Atlantis for centuries. Seeing one here would set anyone on edge."

Chloe sighed; her plan  _had_  been risky, after all. She just hadn't planned on taking a nap when they'd got to Atlantis; it was supposed to be a quick visit. "Okay, yeah, I fucked up," Chloe admitted. "But you can trust Max, Dad. She wants peace between us, too."

Will just shook his head. "I don't know if I can completely trust humanity, Chloe. They are dangerous—and what you've told me today proves that." Chloe looked away, knowing that what he said was true.

"But, if Max helps us as the Marshes have assisted us in the past, then I will…reevaluate my opinion," Will said, and Chloe's expression immediately brightened, and she reached forward and hugged her father.

"I won't let you down, Dad," Chloe said eagerly, pulling back. "And neither will Max."

"I pray that's true," Will said, before gently pressing a soft kiss to the top of Chloe's head. "Now, go."

* * *

"I don't understand," Max blurted as Victoria quickly cycled through the keys on the loop in an attempt to find the one that unlocked Max's door.

"Me neither," Brooke whispered, as Victoria shoved one of the keys in the lock and swore when it didn't fit.

"Look, Caulfield," Victoria said, trying another key. "I'm not saving your dumb ass because I care about you or anything, but I've spent ages just trying to figure out what the Prescotts have been doing for the past few years."

"Then why not just go and ask Brooke?"

"I'm literally not allowed to go anywhere on this estate without a fucking escort," Victoria pulled a face, looking irritated.

Brooke put it together. "I never saw you without Nathan or a guard," she said simply.

Victoria finally managed to unlock Max's door, and she gestured for Max to turn around. "I'll untie you," she explained at Max's questioning look.

As Victoria quickly undid the knots on the ropes around Max's wrists, Max pressed her for more information.

"I thought the Prescotts and Chases had a thing going—why wouldn't they just let you do whatever you want?"

Victoria gave a short laugh in response, a tinge of bitterness in her voice. "We can do whatever we want as long as we don't get in the Prescotts' way." Max felt the ropes loosen, and she pulled her hands out of the ropes, massaging her wrists and trying to get the circulation back.

Standing up and heading to Brooke's door, Victoria looked for the key to open Brooke's door as well.

"I'm finding this hard to believe. Victoria Chase, being nice and saving us?" Max huffed, getting up and standing next to Victoria.

Victoria shot her a glare. "People have tried to take advantage of me and my family's name for years, Caulfield," she hissed. "Especially the Prescotts. My family's literally had to do everything they want us to—and most of it is fucked up," her voice dropped to a whisper at the end. She had to take a deep breath before continuing and trying another key in Brooke's cell door.

"Slave trade, drug rings, blackmail and sabotage. It stacks up," Victoria whispered, and she managed to unlock Brooke's door then. "I'm tired of being their bitch—my family deserves better. And Arcadia Island deserves better," she said, her voice growing stronger as she undid the ropes around Brooke's wrists.

Max felt her heart twist in her chest—she had never imagined Victoria's family was that deep into the black market. She had been naïve to think Arcadia Island was free from tainted hands, and she shivered—though Jefferson had done well to avoid transporting illegal substances or even people, she'd heard of ships who'd take on anything as long as the gold was good.

Victoria looked at her, a hard look that made Max realize that there had always been more to Victoria than meets the eye.

"Arcadia's been under the Prescotts' thumb for centuries—it's time that changed," Victoria continued, helping Brooke up from the ground. "My family's ready for the Prescott reign to be over. Arcadia—the woman who founded this island, she's my ancestor," Victoria revealed, and she gestured for Max and Brooke to join her at the door.

That piece of information surprised both Max and Brooke greatly. "But what does that have to do with anything?" Brooke whispered, as Victoria quickly glanced out the door.

"Because, Arcadia founded this island on the principles of learning, of innovation, of the progress for mankind," Victoria said quietly, and she signaled for Max and Brooke to quickly follow her outside. "Brooke, you should know better than anyone what the Prescottts have turned this island into," she said bitterly, and Brooke looked down at the ground, her expression pained.

"They've turned this place into a weapon-making facility, meant for destruction and genocide," Brooke said resentfully, her hands clenched into fists.

The three of them quickly walked across the lawn, making their way to a building that Max recognized as the garage—inside, Max saw several sleek cars, their metal reflecting the moonlight that shone from above. Victoria pointed at her car, gesturing for them to get in.

Once they were inside, Max in the passenger seat, Brooke in the back, and Victoria at the wheel, Victoria revved up the engine.

"My family plans to turn that around. We're gonna make Arcadia Island back to what it  _should_  be. A place for the betterment of mankind, to make people's lives happier and better—through art, or literally anything that can't be weaponized," Victoria continued, staring hard at the road in front of her.

"Kids on this island shouldn't be scared of being smart or creative. Some of the kids I tutor in drawing are scared of being smart because they know what happened to Brooke," she said, her voice full of anger. "Do you know how fucked up that is? That kids on this island grow up in constant fear of the Prescotts? They don't deserve that."

Max considered this new information, remembering how happy Victoria had been when she'd given her pinwheel to the small child at the festival.  _Victoria really does care._

"Okay, I believe you," Max said finally. "But how does breaking me and Brooke out solve anything?"

"I broke you out because Nathan wouldn't put Brooke in jail unless he was done with her," Victoria said, her eyes glaring straight ahead at the road. "And because Nathan made it sound like whatever big plan is happening, is happening tomorrow morning—the asshole couldn't shut up about it the entire time I was there," she huffed. "Finally managed to get away once Nathan and his dad said they were going down to the docks—and here we are."

Brooke looked up from the backseat then, and she spoke up.

"I told Max what the Prescotts are planning—and now you want to know too," Brooke said, and she gazed at Victoria intensely. "I'll tell you too, if you can save my family."

Victoria's response was immediate. "Done. Before I broke you out, I told Taylor and Courtney to get your family off the island—they should be waiting by my private port on my estate. That's where I'm driving us right now."

An immense amount of relief passed over Brooke's face, and she sat back in her seat, tears in her eyes. "Thank you, Victoria," she whispered, hugging herself.

"Don't thank me. Tell me what the Prescotts are doing," Victoria commanded, and Brooke did as she asked, describing the bombs and the fault line and Atlantis.

By the time Brooke was done explaining, Victoria had pulled up to the Chase estate—Max had mentally kept track of where they were going, and concluded that they were at the southeastern part of the island—and Victoria parked the car before the three of them got out.

"Shit. And they're going to blow up the bombs in the morning," Victoria was seething with fury as she stalked down from the front yard and down a small path to the beach that was located down the hill from them. "That's going to mess up my family's plans of allying with the Atlanteans again," she said under her breath, her hands clenched into fists.

Max raised an eyebrow at that comment, but said nothing—best to keep her questions to herself in the midst of an irritated Chase.

Checking her watch, Victoria gave a growl of frustration. "And they're leaving in a few hours…And I don't even know how we're supposed to warn the Atlanteans of what's going to happen to them because none of us have seen one in centuries."

Swallowing, Max took a moment before responding, her heart pounding in her chest as she considered the enormity of what she was going to say.

"I…may have an idea."

Victoria looked at her, but by then, their party had made it down to the Chases' private dock. Extending down from the beach was a wooden bridge, ending with a sleek, metal yacht at the end. On it, Brooke spotted her family waving at her—and she gave a cry of happiness. At the end of the bridge, the three of them spotted Taylor and Courtney.

As they headed down to join Victoria's friends, Brooke turned to Victoria.

"Thank you, Victoria, thank you so much," Brooke whispered, and Max saw some of the youth come back to Brooke's face as happiness and joy came to her.

"Hurry and get on the yacht—I'm pretty sure the guard I knocked out is awake by now," Victoria said, gesturing for Brooke to get on the ship. As Brooke eagerly reunited with her family, Victoria signaled for the captain of the yacht to start moving.

"We'll call for you if we ever need you again," Taylor called, and Brooke just gave a nod.

As Victoria, Taylor, Courtney, and Max watched the yacht head out on the dark ocean, with Brooke waving goodbye, Victoria turned to Max. "I  _was_  going to tell you to get on too, since you're on the Prescott hit list, but you said you had an idea," Victoria said, an eyebrow raised.

Max took a deep breath.

"I know an Atlantean."

* * *

Chloe disliked swimming through the marsh—she could barely see through the murky, green waters, and the numerous twisting roots and vines of the trees got in her way more often than not.  _Stupid plant shit._

After Chloe had left Atlantis, she'd stopped by her and Max's usual cave—disappointment washed over her when she didn't find Max there, but she noted that Max's things were gone.  _So Max did make it back to island, alive. Thanks, Dad._

But now she had no human clothes to disguise herself with.  _And I need clothes to get into town. Damn._ Chloe made a mental note to ask Max to leave clothes behind for her the next time she visited the island. She thought for a moment, considering her options before deciding on one.

So now here she was, swimming through this giant swamp, looking for a bizarre human contraption that floated on water.

_Kate'll give me some clothes and then I can go find Max._

After swimming through the marsh for some time, Chloe just gave up and asked for directions from an old trout, who helpfully pointed her in the right direction.

Chloe finally spotted the church when she noticed the giant shadow it cast over the water, and she quickly swam under it, popping up above the water. There was just a foot of clearance between the underside of the church and the surface, and Chloe quickly made her way over to the to the hatch that led to the inside of the church.

The hatch was closed, as expected.  _It's late anyway. None of the Marshes are going to be up at this hour._

Chloe experimentally reached up a hand and pushed on the hatch—it lifted slightly, and Chloe gave a sigh of relief.  _There shouldn't be anyone on the other side._

Just as she was about to throw the hatch open and pull herself up, it abruptly opened, Kate's terrified face peering down at her.

"Woah, Kate, chill, it's just me," Chloe said, taken aback; she'd never seen Kate look anything but cheerful, and the intensity of the panic in Kate's eyes was enough to send a jolt through Chloe's heart.

"Oh no, oh no, you're here," Kate breathed, her eyes widening as she took in Chloe's presence. She stepped back as Chloe hauled herself up and into the room, dripping water everywhere.

Chloe raised an eyebrow as she scrunched the water out of her hair.

"Usually you're pretty happy to see me. What's up, Kate?"

Kate just sat down on the ground, holding her head in her hands, and Chloe saw an open bible next to her on the ground.

"Praying this late? I didn't know you guys did that," Chloe said curiously, but then she remembered why she'd come here. "Oh, yeah, Kate, I need to borrow some clothes so I can go find Max."

" _Max?"_  Kate squeaked, looking up at Chloe.

Chloe immediately picked up on why Kate seemed to be so frightened.

"What happened to Max, Kate?" Chloe asked, fear rising through her chest. " _What happened to Max?!"_  she asked louder when Kate just rapidly shook her head, holding her head in her hands.

Kate just trembled under Chloe's rising voice.

_My dad promised she'd just be put back here—_

"Max…Max got taken by the Prescotts," Kate whimpered, and Chloe's mind went into overdrive, her thoughts going haywire.

"She…she wanted to go break into the Prescott Labs to figure out what they were doing, because she thought if she stopped the Prescotts she could go see you again," Kate continued, her voice feeble. "But then she got caught—I saw Nathan put her and Brooke away."

Chloe just stood there, frozen.

"I was too scared to try anything—I saw that one guard was left with them, so I couldn't go and get them, so I thought I'd wait a while to see if the guard would leave—he never did, so I just came back here and now  _you're_  here—"

Chloe's hands balled into fists, immediately filled with unrelenting fury for the Prescotts; inside her chest, a monster roared, clawing at her insides and she wanted nothing more than to end the Prescotts right then and there.

_If they hurt Max in any way, I'm gonna fucking tear them apart!_

"We're going to get them now, Kate," Chloe said through her teeth, her hand wrapped around the metal baton in her pocket.

Kate just looked at her, and there must've been something on Chloe's face—her determination, her rage—that made Kate swallow and look less afraid than before.

"I'll…I'll show you the way."

* * *

After Max explained her relationship with Chloe, Victoria, Taylor, and Courtney just looked surprised and shocked—but Victoria pulled herself together quickly.

"Okay, well, we have to move quickly if we're going to stop the Prescotts on time. If they're taking the  _Prescott_ , that thing's the fastest ship in existence," Victoria huffed, crossing her arms and thinking. She glanced at the horizon, and Max noted the time as well. Dawn would be upon them soon.

And the Prescotts would be leaving the port soon enough.

"Courtney, Taylor, see if you can find a way to delay the  _Prescott_. Take my car," Victoria commanded, and the two nodded before sprinting off from the dock and back towards the driveway up the hill.

"I honestly don't know what they can do to delay them, but I know they'll try hard," Victoria said softly, watching as her friends got in her car.

Turning to Max, Victoria's tone became more business-like.

"How do we contact your Atlantean friend?"

"I'll figure out something. First, we need to go find Kate and tell her I'm okay," Max said.

Now her and Victoria were quickly making through their way through the jungle that would lead to the marsh. Though Victoria had questioned the need to grab Kate, Max gave her the bare minimum of what Victoria needed to know—Kate knew the Atlanteans too, and could prove to be a helpful friend. The more allies the better.

Victoria nodded her agreement, but she voiced her complaints about treading through the jungle, avoiding vines and branches.

"God, this sucks ass. I'm getting dirt all over my new leather boots," Victoria grumbled.

"Sorry, but this is the only way to get to the marsh," Max said, pushing up a branch and allowing Victoria to walk under it.

"Oh, and let me guess. The marsh is super muddy. Great," Victoria muttered under her breath. Max just rolled her eyes, noting how she had to do most of the grunt work when lifting up vines or adjusting branches to let Victoria get through relatively unscathed through the jungle. Though the sky was beginning to lighten, Max could barely make out the path in front of her, and more than once she'd gotten whipped by a low branch.

Suddenly, Max heard a twig snap from up ahead and the dim sounds of voices, and she froze; Victoria heard it as well, and she immediately pulled the both of them behind a tree.

"Who the fuck else is awake and going to the marsh at this time?" Victoria hissed, and Max just shook her head, her fear reflected in Victoria's eyes.

The two stood there, their backs pressed against the bark, their bodies frozen as the voices came closer.

"I'm gonna rip those fuckers apart, piece by piece," said a familiar voice, and Max's heart leapt to her throat.

"Chloe, that's—" Kate began, but Max jumped out from the tree, her heart pounding in her chest as she felt  _hope_ —

" _Chloe,"_  Max breathed, and she saw Chloe standing in front of her in human clothing, frozen on the path, with Kate next to her.

It took Chloe a split second to recognize the person ahead of her—and Chloe swiftly made it to Max in two strides, her arms automatically wrapping around Max, her fierce gaze looking into Max's soul.

Max reached up, not breathing, and with trembling hands, cupped Chloe's face, afraid that she wasn't real—but she was, and Max slowly ran one hand through Chloe's blue hair, tears coming to her eyes as Chloe pressed herself closer. Chloe was  _real_ , was  _here_ , with her.

"Max," Chloe whispered, her voice so soft and gentle. They gazed at each other for a moment, just taking in the sudden miracle that they'd found each other again. Just as Chloe began to lean her head down, Max felt a sharp tug on the back of her shirt, pulling her away from Chloe's embrace.  _Victoria, not now—_

" _Okay_ , I'm guessing you're Chloe," Victoria said sharply, her hand tightening on the back of Max's shirt. "Great reunion and all, but we need to get mov—"

" _What_  the  _fuck?!"_  Chloe snarled, her features contorting into fury as she glared at Victoria, pure rage in her blue eyes. Max and Kate glanced at each other, and a silent message went between them as they both realized what was about to happen—

" _You're_  with the Prescotts," Chloe growled, and she took a threatening step towards Victoria, her hands balled into fists.

Victoria almost mirrored Chloe's reaction, immediately getting into a fighting stance, her fists held up in front of her chest, her eyes never leaving Chloe's.

"Chloe, chill—Victoria's with us!" Max breathed, standing in front of Victoria, her hands in front of her, trying to prevent Chloe from beating up the one person who had the resources to save them. Shooting a look at Kate— _help me—_ Kate took that as her cue to come up behind Chloe, her delicate hands grasping the back of Chloe's shirt, pulling slightly as Chloe leaned forward, glaring daggers at Victoria.

"Let's have Victoria explain herself," Kate said, her voice calm and civil—but Max could hear the nervous undertone, and she turned her head to nod at Victoria.

Victoria glanced at her, before nodding as well.

"I broke Max out. I want to stop the Prescotts too, and I'd explain that too but we really need to hurry—the Prescotts are about to board a ship to go blow up the bombs that are near Atlantis," Victoria said quickly, her calculating eyes on Chloe the entire time. She gave a speedy explanation of what Brooke had told them, and Chloe went pale at their imminent deadline.

Max nodded vigorously. "Everything she says is true—the Prescotts are probably leaving in an hour."

"An hour?" Chloe whispered, and she looked away, looking lost, the light in her eyes turning dark. Kate loosened her grip on Chloe's shirt, her expression a mixture of concern and fear, and Max glanced behind her to see Victoria relaxing her stance slightly. Despite how commanding Victoria could be, Max could see the tenseness in Victoria's jaw, the slight apprehension in her eyes, the faint worry lines in her forehead…and she wondered just how much responsibility and how many secrets Victoria had shouldered over the past few years.

"How do we stop the Prescotts?" Kate asked, and Max looked ahead again, noting that Kate's hands were trembling.

"We need to tell the rest of the Atlanteans what's going to happen—," Victoria started, but Chloe turned and looked at both Max and Victoria.

"I've told them about the bombs. But we didn't know they were going to blow them up so soon," Chloe whispered, and Max's heart twisted in her chest, seeing how devastated Chloe looked, how her eyes seemed to have lost a little life.

"Is there a way to get a message to your dad, or anyone else back in Atlantis?" Max asked, swallowing, her heart pounding in her chest. The events of the past day had set her on edge, but the adrenaline rush she'd experienced in just the past few hours was enough to keep her awake and alert.  _We're stopping the Prescotts. No matter what._

Seeming to come back to reality, Chloe nodded.

"We need to get down to the beach."


	15. Arcadia Bays

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on a writing roll, so here's two chapters! Or maybe because I'm just eager for this to end, lol.
> 
> A guest on ff.net asked if I'd be making more Pricefield!AUs. I will, but probably not for quite some time after At Sea is finished. It's worn me out, honestly. I need a break from writing once Atlantis!AU is finished. Eventually I'll post my next AU idea. Will I ever write a fic that's 100k-200k? Most likely not. If At Sea's gotten me tired, I don't think I have the endurance to write a 100k fic.
> 
> I still have to finish my 500 follower prompts on Tumblr, so I'll probably be posting those one-shots once I finish them.
> 
> Aside from that, you probably won't see any large AUs from me for a long time.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for sticking it out with me, everyone. Almost to the end.

**CHAPTER 14: ARCADIA BAYS**

As the four of them hurried down to the pier, Chloe explained how she'd broken out of her room and discovered the bombs, and how her father had let her go; Kate chipped in on what she'd done after Max had been captured, and in return, Max quickly explained how her plan had gone awry before Victoria's timely intervention.

After Max finished her tale, Victoria said under her breath, "Now I get why you two are together."

Chloe looked at her. "What do you mean?"

Looking her straight in the eye, Victoria said deadpan, "You're both idiots."

Though Max and Kate had to restrain Chloe from punching Victoria in the face, the four of them managed to make it down to the pier unscathed.

"Me and my idiot are gonna go down to the beach and get a message to the rest of the Atlanteans," Chloe said to Victoria and Kate, who both nodded.

"Then Kate and I will go find Taylor and Courtney—and see where the Prescotts are," Victoria said grimly, and with that, their party split up.

* * *

"Max, c'mon," Chloe said, tugging on Max's hand, and the two of them went right down the path as Victoria and Kate turned left towards the docks.

"What are you going to do?" Max panted as the two of them sprinted down towards the beach—glancing up, Max felt her heart twist in her chest as the color of the sky lightened with the coming dawn.  _We'll be out of time soon._

"Call a few friends," Chloe breathed, and the two of them skidded to a halt in the sand just a few feet away from the waters.

"Wait here, I'll be back in a moment," Chloe directed at Max; she nodded in acknowledgement and watched Chloe take a few running steps into the water before diving in, human clothes and all.

As Max stood there, her arms wrapped around herself as she tried not to shiver in the cool morning winds, she bit her lip, hating the feeling of hesitation and fear of the unknown that gripped her heart. Though being reunited with Chloe had done wonders to her mood, she was still extremely aware of the reality before them.

The only people who could stop the Prescotts from annihilating or enslaving an entire race were…the four of them.

_But we're just…kids. How are we going to fight against the most powerful family in Arcadia? With the most powerful warship in existence?_

Though she knew Victoria had sway and influence, neither would be of use in the small timespan they had to stop the Prescotts.

Though she knew Chloe could control water and speak to sea life, neither would be of use against Nathan's gun and invincible ship.

Though she knew Kate had excellent skills in diplomacy and in strategy and wit, neither would be of use against the Prescotts' sadistic and twisted minds.

Though she knew she'd always wanted to be a hero—she was unsure now.  _Heroes have faced worse odds…right?_

Max shook her head, trying to calm her heart and the anxiety that raked its claws across her stomach, the fear that sank its fangs into her chest.  _Now's not the time to be afraid, Max. You need to be a hero. For Chloe. And the rest of the Atlanteans._

Just then, Chloe came back to shore, dragging herself from the water and hurriedly scrunching the water from her clothes and hair.

"Okay, I met up with Bongo—he's gonna grab some of his fastest friends and try and send a warning to my dad and the others," Chloe panted, looking up and noticing Max's worried expression.

Max nodded, swallowing, trying to compose herself.

"Let's head back to Victoria and Kate. If we can stop the Prescotts on land, we might have a chance at—"

Just then, they heard a loud horn blare in the distance, and the both of them turned towards the pier. Feeling the blood in her heart run cold, Max saw an enormous ironclad warship unfurling its massive sails as it began to drift away from the docks, steam billowing from the massive engine at its center. She didn't have to guess whose ship that was.

" _Shit,"_  they both said in unison, and Max and Chloe looked at each other then, the fear in Max's eyes reflected in Chloe's.

Grabbing Chloe's hand and running back up the path, Max grit her teeth.

"We need to get back to Victoria and Kate."

* * *

As the pair sprinted down the pier, Max noticed a pair of guards on each of the docks, preventing sailors from boarding any ship.  _If this is what I think it is—_

Soon, they heard Victoria's raised voice, and Max managed to see Victoria in a heated argument with two guards. Further down, Kate was in a more civil conversation with another pair of guards, but Max could see the faint line in Kate's forehead; a sign that she was making about as much progress to get past the guards as Victoria was.

Spotting Taylor and Courtney standing a few feet away from Victoria, closer to the taverns, Max and Chloe made their way to the pair.

"What's going on? We just saw the  _Prescott_ leave—," Max started, but Taylor quickly shook her head.

"The Prescotts have shut down the entire pier today. No ships can leave—except theirs. At first, Victoria and Kate tried to find a way to get past the guards to board the  _Prescott_ ," Taylor said quietly, her eyes never leaving Victoria's back.

Courtney finished the explanation. "Obviously we didn't make it in time. Nathan and his dad are on the ship already. But now Victoria and Kate are trying to convince the guards to let Victoria out on her yacht today."

Max nodded her head, understanding. "If we can get on Victoria's yacht, we can try and catch up with the  _Prescott."_

"Well, we'll need to hurry before the  _Prescott_  gets too much of a head-start," Chloe said under her breath, turning and looking out at the warship as it headed out into the ocean waters.

"We know," Courtney said grimly. "The guards just  _won't_  move, though. Apparently the Prescotts paid them a  _huge_  amount of money to stop anyone and everyone—even Victoria."

"Damn it," Max breathed, biting her lip. Noting how Kate and Victoria were still talking to the guards, Max tried to think of another option. She glanced up at the taverns that lined the pier, and she felt an idea come to mind.

_Please let him be here, please._

"I have an idea—Taylor, Courtney, do you know Hayden?" she asked quickly, and the pair nodded.

"We need to find him. He'll probably be in one of the taverns."

As Taylor and Courtney headed off down the pier, poking their heads inside the various pubs and bars, Chloe tugged on Max's sleeve, her face questioning.

"Hayden's one of my friends. I think he can help us get onto the docks," Max said, and Chloe raised an eyebrow.

"How's he gonna do that?"

"Trust me, okay?" Max looked Chloe in the eyes then, holding tightly onto Chloe's hand. "Go tell Victoria and Kate to ease off until we find Hayden."

Though Chloe bit her lip, hesitation flashing across her eyes, she nodded, giving Max a quick peck on the cheek before moving towards Victoria and Kate.

Wasting no time, Max dashed from building to building, praying that Hayden would still be in one, despite the imminent morning. Door after door she threw open, her eyes quickly roving over its inhabitants. Despite her accurate eyesight, Max swore internally when the first few taverns she visited had no Hayden within. Coming out of one tavern, Max glanced down to see Taylor and Courtney still making their way through the pubs further down the pier, but once they made eye contact with her, the both of them shook their heads.  _Damn. We need to find Hayden. Now._

Looking out towards the ocean, Max felt her heart sink in her chest as the  _Prescott_  became steadily smaller and smaller. She knew that its combination of wind and steam would grant it a speed that would be unrivaled for large ships its size—if Victoria's yacht were to ever catch up to it, their party needed to leave  _soon._ Tearing her gaze away, Max grit her teeth, sprinting to the next bar.

_Please, please let me find—_

Just as she opened the door to a small pub, she almost collided into the person standing just inside of it; Max took a step back, breathing hard as she looked up into Hayden's bewildered face.  _Thank God!_

"M—"

"Hayden, I need you to help me," Max said desperately, trying to convey as much urgency in her voice as she could. "The Prescotts are going to fuck a lot of shit up, and I need your help to stop them."

Hayden just stood there, his mouth open as he tried to comprehend Max's haggard appearance. Glancing backward at the sea, Max felt panic shoot through her heart as she saw the  _Prescott_  getting further and further away from them.  _Shit, can't let them get too far._ Noting his lack of response, Max pressed forward, trying to hurry.

"The Prescotts knew they were sending the  _Blackwell_  into death, Hayden—help me avenge them, please!" Max tugged urgently on Hayden's shirt sleeve, but she needn't have bothered; looking up, Max say Hayden's face suddenly harden, turning focused and intense.

"For the  _Blackwell_ ," he said in a low voice, and Max was thankful that she'd never been on Hayden's bad side. "What do I do? How do I fuck up the Prescotts?" he asked, stepping out onto the pier, cracking his knuckles.

Giving an internal sigh of relief, Max pointed at all the guards lining the docks. In the corner of her eye, Max spotted Taylor, Courtney, Victoria, Kate and Chloe convening in a small group nearby, all of them watching her and Hayden.

"I need you to take out the guards—or just cause enough chaos to get them to stop guarding the docks," Max said quickly. She opened her mouth to say something else, but by then, Hayden had ripped off the sleeves of his shirt and begun flexing, his muscles bulging under his dark skin.

"Fuck. Shit. Up. Got it," Hayden said in that same low, threatening, furious voice, and Max made a mental note to never anger the man before her. Turning to her, his expression intense, his dark gaze boring into her, Hayden gave a small nod.

"I got this, Max. Do what you gotta do. Fuck the Prescotts up."

Max nodded.

"I promise, Hayden."

Hayden offered Max a small smile then, and Max felt a small spark of hope in her chest. Understanding that it was her time to go, Max turned and jogged back to her friends. She turned just in time to see what Hayden was planning, and later on, when she looked back at this moment, she was grateful that she'd done so.

Hayden charged forward towards a pair of guards from where he was standing, his large hands clenched into fists as he roared, " _For the Blackwell! DOWN WITH THE PRESCOTTS!"_

The guards stood there, bewildered before Hayden landed a cruel right hook at the first, knocking him out cold. Hayden continued bellowing his battle cry as the second guard scrambled to react, and soon enough, Max saw other sailors coming out from the taverns—noticing Hayden's furious brawling with other guards, they too soon joined in, shouting similar war cries.

" _Down with the Prescotts! Fuck the Prescotts!"_

Max and her friends just watched with awe and amazement as chaos unfurled on the pier, fistfights between guardsmen and sailors erupting everywhere they looked. The scene before her felt so surreal that Max had to shake her head, almost laughing at the insanity of it all.

"Okay, well, that's one way," Victoria finally managed to say. The group turned to her, and Victoria started to bark out commands.

"Taylor, Courtney, go and get the rest of my people. Have them board my warships and as soon as you can, start following us." Taylor and Courtney nodded in affirmation. "Oh, and, grab the Grahams as well. There might be casualties," Victoria added, her tone and expression both grim.

Turning towards Kate, Chloe, and Max, Victoria continued her directives. "We'll go on my yacht—once we're on it, we'll figure out a plan once we get to the  _Prescott_  itself."

With that, Taylor and Courtney ran off to get reinforcements from the Chase estate as the group of four sprinted down the docks towards Victoria's sleek wooden yacht, its lacquered sides sleek and smooth; Max had to resist asking just how many yachts Victoria owned as the four of them jumped into its cockpit.  _Then again, she has a ton of money._   _If only money could stop time…_

Quickly starting up the engine, Victoria grabbed hold of the wheel as the yacht's motor roared to life, and soon enough, the four of them were speeding out from the docks. The sounds of the brawls faded away as they almost soared across the waters, and the rush of the winds and spray of cold seawater had them all gripping tightly at the edges of the boat.

Pulling out her spyglass from her bag, Max looked towards the horizon—the  _Prescott_ 's combination of both steam and sail allowed it a much faster amount of speed than any conventional ship, and she bit her lip, trying to gauge the vast distance between them and the Prescotts. Though she could spot the Prescott well enough with just the naked eye, as she moved her spyglass over the length of the ship, she noted the numerous canons in its sides and the number of soldiers on its deck.  _Damn. That's a ton of firepower._

Noticing Max's intense look as she gazed at the warship, Kate asked, "What do you see, Max?"

"There's a ton of guards and cannons on the  _Prescott_ ," Max breathed, her heart hammering in her chest. "And I'm guessing we'll catch up with the  _Prescott_  in an hour or two."

As Kate bit her lip in concern, Victoria nodded her affirmation, and Max noted that she looked deep in thought.  _Hope she has a plan for this._

"What exactly are we gonna do when we get to the  _Prescott_?" Max asked.

Kate spoke up. "You said something about a remote that detonates the bombs—we need to get that first, above all else."

"Yeah, but that's with Nathan shithead," Chloe added, looking ahead of them, a scowl on her face.

Though Victoria continued glaring straight ahead, her back ramrod straight as she stood behind the wheel, her voice was clear and sharp as she spoke to them.

"Max—Kate, do either of you know how to fight?"

Kate and Max looked at each other, and they both answered in unison, "No."

Chloe suddenly blurted, " _What?_ You guys don't know how to fight? Like, wield a sword or—"

Despite her gentle complexion, Kate almost managed to pull off a scowl. "Chloe, I live and work inside a church—I'm not about to go around slicing people's heads off."

Max added, "I'm just…not a fighting kind of person, Chloe."

Victoria quickly cut in before Chloe could even open her mouth. "That works out then. You two will stay out of the fighting."

"What do you have in mind, Victoria?" Kate asked.

Victoria quickly explained her plan. She would tie both Max and Kate up, pretend to pass them off as prisoners. Once close to the  _Prescott_ , guards on the deck would likely see and acknowledge a Chase bringing the Prescotts a certain Max Caulfield, who'd somehow escaped her prison with the aid of Kate Marsh. Victoria guessed that Kate and Max would be brought down into the hold—where they could escape their binds and find a way to either slow the ship down or destroy the ironclad from the inside out. Anything to get it to stop moving was their best bet to make sure Nathan's remote never got within range of the bombs.

While Kate and Max would be busy with their subterfuge, Victoria would explain why and how she'd managed to bring Max and Kate to the Prescotts, claiming some form of bullshit lie that would make it look like she was still loyal to the Prescotts and wanted to witness their rise to power. She would then pass Chloe off as her bodyguard, and with trust established, the two would try to get a private audience with Nathan and Bradley—trap them both, corner them both in some room where the both of them could take father and son down before Nathan could ever activate the remote or pull the trigger to his gun.

As Victoria finished explaining her plan, Max reluctantly felt a bit of respect and admiration.

"How'd you come up with a plan like that so fast?" Max asked.

Victoria let out a curt laugh. "Please, Caulfield. You're just not as smart as me."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Sounds like a pl—," she started, but she abruptly sat up straight, her head turning this way and that as Chloe seemed to be looking for something that none of them could see. Kate and Max exchanged looks again, and Max opened her mouth to say something—

She heard Kate give a small squeak of surprise; Kate was looking into the waters to the left of her, and Max looked towards her left as well to see numerous marine life speeding through the waves on either side of them; dolphins, sharks, sting rays, all kinds of sea life surrounded them. At the wheel, she saw Victoria's face go slightly pale with shock, while Kate just looked at the fish with a look of fascination and wonder.

Squinting amongst the numerous marine life swimming with the yacht, she managed to recognize one animal in particular— _Bongo!_

* * *

Chloe leaned over the right side of the yacht as she spoke to her dolphin friend.

" _Bongo, are these all your friends?"_

" _Yes—friends help fight bad ship. Will try to keep humans on top of ship busy."_

" _What do you mean?"_

" _Friends will jump from water onto ship. Snap at humans."_

Chloe burst out laughing, just imagining the image of numerous sharks and sting rays and dolphins and other fish suddenly flapping onto the deck of the  _Prescott_ , causing mayhem among the sailors. She turned serious at her next question.

" _Did my dad and the others get the warning?"_

Bongo responded quickly. " _Yes. Want me to tell you they ready to take on bad ship. Will get on it too."_

" _Tell them and your friends to only board and attack the ship once they know blonde girl and I are with the Prescotts,"_  and Chloe quickly described what Nathan and Bradley looked like. She also gave a quick rundown of their plan, letting Bongo know that he and his friends would need to hide until the signal.

Bongo whistled his understanding before calling his friends to dive into the waters below.

Turning towards her friends, Chloe noted that Victoria was staring at her, her mouth slightly open while Max was staring intently ahead of them, her eyes focused on the  _Prescott_. Meanwhile, Kate was happily laughing as she dipped her hand into the water, gently touching and poking the friendly sea animals that came close.

"What?" Chloe asked at Victoria's expression.

"What are all these fish here for? And what—or who—or whatever were you talking to?" Victoria asked. "I didn't know you guys talked—"

"They're here to help," Chloe interrupted. "They'll keep the guys on deck busy while we take care of stuff with the Prescotts."

Victoria just opened and closed her mouth several times, before shaking her head and looking forward again. "Good. I'm hoping our warning got to your people on time, too?"

"Yeah. Once we got the Prescotts where we want 'em, they'll come on board and unleash hell too."

* * *

For the first time in what seemed to be a long time, Max saw Victoria give a smile, one that made her face look ten times more youthful than she'd ever seen.

It lasted only for a moment, as Victoria turned to look ahead of them again, her grip tightening on the wheel. "I can't wait to give 'em hell," Max just barely managed to hear Victoria say under her breath, and she wondered just what hell the Prescotts had dragged Victoria's family through.

"We'll be there soon," Victoria said louder. "Chloe, look under the seats and use the rope to bind up Max and Kate."

Chloe muttered something along the lines of "always bossing me around," but nonetheless did as she was told. While Kate closed her eyes and clasped her hands in silent prayer, Max turned and put her arms behind her, feeling Chloe wrap the rope around her wrists. She swallowed, trying not to feel the pounding of her heart, trying not to think about the fact that the  _Prescott_  was getting closer and closer… _And that just means closer to a final battle. I wonder if heroes always get this nervous before the final showdown._  Though Victoria's plan made it sound like Max and Kate would be out of harm's way, she felt fear and anxiety at being separated from Chloe. That fact compounded with the reality that Chloe was going to be near Nathan himself sent a chill down her spine.

_I hope we don't lose anyone._

"It's gonna be okay, Max," Chloe murmured in her ear, and Max just took a deep breath in response, knowing that Chloe saw her trembling hands.

Chloe leaned around her, pressing a soft kiss to Max's lips, before leaning her forehead against Max's.

"In…In case something happens," Max started shakily, but Chloe reached up and held Max's face in her hands, her expression suddenly intense and fierce.

"Nothing's gonna happen. We're gonna make it."

"I hope you're right," Max whispered. Remembering something, Max pulled away, taking a deep breath.  _Be brave._

"Chloe, when you see Nathan…"

Chloe listened attentively.

"He took my compass. Get it back for me and come back to me, okay?"

A mixture of expressions came across Chloe's face; disbelief, then fury, then a look of determination passed into Chloe's clear blue eyes.

"I promise."

Unable to say anything more and force anything out from the lump in her throat, Max just nodded, and Chloe held her face in her hands for one, last, brief moment, before she turned and began to wrap some rope around Kate's wrists as well.

Looking ahead at the enormous warship ahead, Max noticed storm clouds gathering on the horizon, felt the winds suddenly turn into cold gales that sharply bit at her cheeks, and she recalled just how all of this had started.

_But I hope this ends better than the way it started._


	16. The Red Sea

**CHAPTER 15: THE RED SEA**

Once she'd finished tying up Kate, Chloe quietly asked her, "You okay?"

Kate nodded once, and despite the fear in her eyes, Chloe saw courage, bravery, boldness in them too. The Marshes had always been full of valor, ever since they'd helped the Atlanteans centuries ago—they were devoted and determined to hold their faith, despite what challenges came to meet them.

Chloe nodded as well, before standing up and joining Victoria, where she stood at the wheel. Pulling up her hood and making sure her collar was secure around her neck, Chloe crossed her arms; the two of them glared resolutely ahead as they came nearer and nearer to the  _Prescott_.

"They'll see us soon—one of the guards will probably recognize me," Victoria said under her breath, and Chloe gave a grunt in acknowledgement. "Let me do the talking. Just stay there and look—"

"Badass, I know," Chloe said curtly. The anticipation for the battle ahead had set her on edge, the adrenaline already rushing through her body, and she impatiently tapped her foot on the floor of the yacht. Behind her, Kate and Max were sitting back to back, their hands bound.

 _We're so close to ripping those fuckers apart._ A savage sense of satisfaction came to her as she imagined slamming her baton into those smug, arrogant faces.

As they approached the starboard rear of the ship, a guard noticed them—Chloe saw him leave the railing of the ship for a moment, before coming back with a scowling Nathan.

" _Victoria?!_  What the fu—"

"Nathan, I caught these two idiots escaping your prison," Victoria shouted back, and Chloe saw the whites of her knuckles as she tightly gripped the wheel. "I thought it'd help you to bring them to you directly, so you could do what you want with—"

"I don't have time for this bullshit," Nathan snarled back.

"Are you  _serious_ , Nathan? I came all the way out here to see you fuck up Max Caulfield and Kate Marsh and you tell me you don't have  _time_  for me?!" Victoria seethed with fury, and Chloe had to admit that her acting skills were actually on point.

"God, fine! Bring them up here and just throw them in the hold or something. I'll deal with those two fuckers later," Nathan hissed, gesturing for his guards to lower ropes to tie the yacht to the ship before turning away.

Victoria and Chloe exchanged a look— _so far so good_ —and they managed to haul the four of them onto the deck. Victoria and Chloe managed to exchange one look with Kate and Max as the two were roughly prodded forward into the hold of the ship.  _Good luck_ , Chloe thought, hoping that that wouldn't be the last time she'd see Max or Kate.

They turned in time to see Nathan impatiently gesturing for them to join him in the captain's cabin.

Glancing at each other, Victoria and Chloe walked forward into the cabin, and Chloe braced herself, her hand tightly gripping the baton in her pocket as she saw Bradley lounging in a luxurious leather chair behind an enormous wooden desk at the back of the room. Behind him, a beautiful glass window mosaic framed the sea behind him, and on either side, the portholes were just as detailed with golden  _P_ s embedded in the glass. Around her, Chloe noted that aside from the large desk in front of Bradley, two smaller tables lined the sides on either side, strewn with various seafaring tools like spyglasses, maps, and sonar radars. She swallowed when she saw various swords, cutlasses, and rapiers held up in displays along the walls.  _Damn. Gotta make sure they never touch those when we start fighting._

Bradley raised an eyebrow at the two of them as they came in, but said nothing.

"Who the fuck are you?" Nathan barked as he leaned against his father's desk, and Chloe opened her mouth to respond before Victoria quickly cut in.

"My new bodyguard. She helped me catch the two idiots below," she said quickly.

Chloe just nodded in agreement, coming forward to the desk as well. She looked down at it and saw an enormous map of the Pacific, but what truly caught her eye was the compass in the center of it, and her heart sped up in her chest.

 _That's Max's._  Something dark gripped Chloe's soul, and without thinking, she picked the compass up in her hand.

Nathan was quick to notice. "Hey, give that back—"

Leaning away, Chloe kept the compass close to her chest, scowling, about to shoot a retort before Victoria was suddenly in between the two of them.

"Anyway, Nathan, wanna hear how I totally nabbed Caulfield?" Victoria asked eagerly, as she too leaned sideways against the desk, facing Nathan and Bradley, with Chloe behind her. She reached out a finger, gently running it down Nathan's chest, and Chloe immediately saw his attention snap back to Victoria's devilish smile. Chloe almost snorted.  _Wow._

Bradley glanced once at Chloe—something in his eyes seemed to register her as a nobody—before looking back at Victoria.

As Victoria launched into her tale, Chloe took that time to pocket Max's compass _,_ and she made a mental note to thank Victoria later.  _Girl's talented at acting, I'll give her that._

Crossing her arms, Chloe resigned herself for the moment when the sea would unleash hell on the two monstrous men before her.  _At least I have the compass. Now I need to get the remote…and all of this will be over._

* * *

Max and Kate were unceremoniously thrust into a tiny storeroom—Max noted, as the guards closed the door, that there was no lock. She heard the guards voices fade away, most likely heading back onto deck.  _Probably think the ropes are enough to bind us._

And then Max realized something.

_Wait. Shit. How do we—_

Turning to ask Kate for advice on how to free themselves, she saw Kate furiously cutting at her binds with a small woodcarving knife in her hand.

"Where—how did you get that?" Max asked incredulously.

As Kate cut her ropes loose, she quickly gestured for Max to turn around, before she began slicing away at her bindings too.

"Max, you and Chloe really need to think about the consequences of living in a wooden house," Kate whispered. "We have to replace the wood every now and then, since moss and stuff gets all over it in humid weather."

Max had never been more grateful to have Kate as her friend than she did right then.

"And because the kids in town like it when I carve them small animals," Kate added thoughtfully, before shaking her head and putting her small knife back in her skirt's pockets. "Okay, I got us free—what do we do now?"

Trying to remember the details of Victoria's plan in her mind, Max mentally began to picture the layout of the warship. She'd spent her time on Victoria's yacht combing over its entire length, trying to guess where things were.  _If we're in a tiny storeroom…Then we're probably at near the back, portside. The steam engine will be at the center of the ship._

Max quickly detailed the layout of the  _Prescott_ , and Kate nodded in acknowledgement.

"There's probably someone—or someones—working the steam engine. We need to take them out or something before we try and stop the engine," Max said quietly as she opened the door a fraction. No one was outside—instead, Max saw the rest of the cargo on board.  _More bombs and dynamite, probably._

Kate tugged on Max's shirt as Max began to try and leave the room.

"Wait, I have an idea," Kate whispered, and she began to pull out several herbs from her pockets.

Max just shot her a questioning look, her eyes wide.

"When you met Chloe and me, we were heading back to the Prescott estate to break you and Brooke out," Kate explained. "We'd thought there'd be guards in the way—so while Chloe caused a distraction or something, I'd go into the prison and offer the guard a drink." She gestured at the herbs in her hand.

Max's mouth dropped open as she thought about the ingenuity of Kate's plan.

"I'm guessing those herbs will knock 'em out."

Kate nodded and smiled. "Exactly. Warren got me into botany a few years ago—and I just kinda kept learning and reading about all these plants and stuff that grows in the marsh. Apparently there's a rare species of p—"

Without warning, Max reached forward and hugged Kate as hard as she could, gratefulness and pride swelling in her chest.

"Have I ever told you how glad I am that you're my best friend, Kate?" Max breathed, and Kate just gave a small laugh in response.

"You and Chloe always come up with half-assed plans, so I made Chloe wait a little bit while I came up with something to break into the estate," Kate said, and she stood up before extending a hand down and helping Max do the same.

The two of them silently left the storeroom, and Kate whispered, "Look for jugs of water or something."

The two of them combed around in the dimness for several moments—despite the light that came from the portholes along the sides of the ships, Max knew that the oncoming storm would decrease whatever visibility they had soon enough. She prayed that the storm wouldn't be as violent and aggressive as it had been before; she didn't like the idea of her and Kate being flung around and being trapped on the inside of a sinking ship.

After they'd combed the current storeroom and found two jugs of water, Max pointed to the next—and the two briefly paused, making sure no one else was on the other side before heading to the next room. Kate pointed along the walls, and Max felt a chill run down her spine as she saw the numerous cannons extending down the length of the room.  _If we're here, then we have to be close to the engine room—_

Peering around in the dimness, Max spotted a closed room in the center of the larger room; inside, they saw a warm, golden glow seeping out from underneath the door, and the two of them nodded before silently making their way to it.

Kate hurriedly mashed the herbs into the jugs, before handing one jug to Max.

"Okay, we'll pretend we're here to give the workers in there refreshments," Kate whispered, and Max nodded in affirmation.  _Pretty sure it's hot as hell in there anyway, with all that fire._

Max knocked on the door, and the two waited.

After several moments, a burly man came to the door, wiping his forehead with his arm. The moment he saw the both of them, carrying the jugs of water, his face broke into a large smile, and Max and Kate were both taken aback at his excited expression.

"Oh, Jesus Christ, I was beginning to think they forgot about us down here," he breathed. Looking behind him, he called, "Carl! Look! They brought water for us!"

Max and Kate heard another voice respond, "Holy shit!  _Finally!_ Let's drink up, Tom! _"_

_Wow. This is almost too easy._

Tom gestured for Kate and Max to come inside, and Carl eagerly took the jug from Max's hands while Tom did the same with Kate's. Max had to blink from the sudden heat of the room—in the center, Max saw an enormous fire in the center of a giant fireplace.  _Jesus. The engine almost takes up the entire room_ , and Max looked along the length of the giant metal contraption, where gears and pulleys were arrayed along its length. The engine itself extended upward, where Max figured the steam was produced, and downward, where Max imagined the giant motor that powered the ship pushed the giant warship forward. She looked around to see one side of the small room was completely taken up with a giant mound of coals, with two large shovels plunged into it.

Tom and Carl sat down in two chairs close to the door, leaving Max and Kate to stand awkwardly in what small space was left that wasn't taken up by the engine or coal.

"So glad you two came with water, thanks," Carl said gratefully, before taking a giant swig of the jug. Kate and Max looked at each other, saying nothing as Tom took a giant gulp of the water from his jug as well.

"Dunno why they made the engine room so fuckin' tiny," Tom complained. "It's burning hot in here."

Carl nodded vigorously, but then paused for a moment, his brow furrowed—Max visibly saw his eyes glaze over, before he fell face forward from his chair and onto the ground. Tom opened his mouth to say something before he too, suddenly fell off his chair and onto the floor.

"Oh-kay, well," Max breathed, tugging at her shirt collar, feeling the sweat along her neck. "That was almost too easy."

Kate just nodded in response. "C'mon, let's take Carl and Tom out of here—and I really need to get out of this heat."

As Max put her hands underneath Tom's arms, and Kate did the same with Carl's, the two of them exchanged looks, knowing that the final battle was soon upon them.

"Almost there, Max," Kate whispered.

* * *

Chloe impatiently tapped her foot on the ground, her arms crossed.  _Bongo should've signaled his friends by now._

Victoria had finished her tale a few moments ago, and now her and Nathan were discussing what his plans were.

" _Why_  didn't you ever tell me you were going to fight the Atlanteans?" Victoria complained.

Nathan scowled, turning and slamming his hands on his father's desk. "Because—"

"Because we wanted this to be a Prescott victory, Victoria," Bradley said from his desk, his feet propped up on its wooden surface. "But I'm wondering as to why you brought Caulfield and Marsh—where's Brooke Scott?"

Victoria swallowed, and she opened her mouth to say something—just before a loud crackle of thunder rattled the skies, and then they heard sudden screams and shouts coming from the deck. Loud booms and thumps were heard as rain pelted the windows, and Nathan straightened up, his hands balling into fists.

Frowning, Bradley started, "Wh—"

A man burst in at that moment, panting, his clothing ripped and shredded. " _Sir_ , there's  _sharks_  and fish jumping onto the deck, attacking anyone and ever—"

Victoria shot a look at Chloe, and in that instant, the two of them moved in sync.

Whipping her baton from her pocket, Chloe quickly dispatched the guard who'd came in before turning around and jumping onto Bradley's desk, rotating her body so she slammed her feet against Bradley's chest—he and his leather throne toppled backwards, smashing a part of the mosaic glass behind him.

Meanwhile, Victoria had leapt forward, throwing a cruel right hook into Nathan's face—he swore as he recoiled, his eyes boiling with rage. " _What the FUCK, Vic—"_

He wasn't able to finish his sentence before Victoria took his face between her hands and smashed it against the table; Victoria's hands then fumbled at the pockets of Nathan's jacket, searching frantically for the remote—

Just as Chloe turned to see Victoria victoriously gripping the remote in her hand, saw Bradley in the corner of her eye standing up from the ground, littered with glass, saw Nathan reaching a hand toward Victoria's throat—the warship suddenly tipped at a precarious angle, and the four of them were abruptly launched off the ground and slammed into the side of the cabin. Chloe crashed into the wall just as Bradley collided into the wall as well—they both managed to look at each for a split second before they heard Victoria's anguished cry.

Managing to turn, her heart pounding in her chest, her palm sweaty against the cold metal of her baton, Chloe felt time seemed to slow. Nathan had gripped Victoria's wrist tightly, almost crushing her, his other hand reaching for the remote in hers—

_No, no, sh—_

Victoria loosened her grip on the remote, but it went soaring across the air as another colossal wave slammed into the  _Prescott_ , tilting it the opposite direction; Chloe saw the panic in Victoria's eyes, but she reacted faster than the three of the humans with her.

Pushing herself off the wall, Chloe leapt towards the remote, throwing her baton away as she reached forward for it; she closed her hand around it, her heart leaping in her chest—

Before she felt Bradley slamming into her, pinning her to the ground, his face contorted with rage, his greasy hair unkempt around him as he raised a fist. Out of the corner of her eye, Chloe saw Victoria knee Nathan in the groin—

Another, brutal, immense wave suddenly smashed into the  _Prescott_ , but not from the sides of the ship; rather, it came flooding in through the glass window mosaic, and water and shattered glass flooded the cabin for a split second before Chloe and Bradley were sucked out as it receded, the two of them hurtled into the ocean, drenched in freezing water.

The last thing Chloe saw before she was submerged beneath the tumultuous ocean waves was Victoria and Nathan, the both of them grimacing as they pulled away from Bradley's desk, drenched in water. The moment Victoria and Nathan both made eye contact—Chloe only saw the two raise their fists before the water engulfed her.

As Chloe tried to orient herself in the water, her hand still firmly clamped around the remote, she felt another abrupt ocean current slam into her—her vision went in all directions for several seconds, and she could make it out glimpses of Bradley careening through the water before the current slowed.

Righting herself before the next onslaught, Chloe took a moment to breathe the freezing water in, feeling it burn the inside of her chest, increasing the adrenaline rush flowing through her veins. Kicking up towards the surface, Chloe looked at the chaos around her as she blinked against the raindrops that pelted her hair and face—ahead, she saw the  _Prescott_ , its deck a complete whirl of chaos as sailors attempted to fight back against the sharks and sea life that jumped onto its surface, snapping and biting at any human that was near. Above, dark storm clouds thundered and boomed above them—but Chloe noted that the sea was slightly calmer than when she'd pulled Max from the wreck of the  _Blackwell._

 _Max._  Chloe squinted at the warship and saw that the engine had stopped spewing steam, and her heart leapt in her chest.  _They did it!_

She then looked around, suddenly realizing that she couldn't see Bradley—

Chloe felt hands clamp her around her throat from behind, and Chloe managed to twist her head enough to see Bradley's face, screwed up with an immense amount of rage.

"I see that you're a fucking Atlantean," Bradley hissed, his hands tightening, and Chloe clawed at his fingers with her free hand, trying to loosen them. Chloe felt panic shoot through her heart as she struggled to breathe— _I can't die like this!_

Bradley's caustic voice breathed into her ear, "You and your entire race—once I end you, I'm taking that remote and blowing all of you to obli—"

His words were suddenly cut short, and Chloe felt amazement and shock as Bradley's eyes rolled up into the back of his head, his grip loosening around her neck and she quickly moved away, gasping for air. Behind Bradley's floating, unconscious body, a blue-haired man surfaced, the tattoos on his right arm glowing vibrantly.

" _Dad!"_  Chloe cried, and she felt an immense amount of relief and joy as she swam forward, wrapping her arms around her father.

"Thought you could use some help," Will said lightly, patting her on the back as the two of them treaded water. "Sent some waves to rough up the warship a little—hope I didn't beat you up too bad."

"Dad, dad, I got the remote," Chloe said excitedly, holding up her hand. Will grinned—a spark of triumph in his eyes.

"That's my girl," he said affectionately, reaching up and ruffling Chloe's blue hair. Will whistled, and a dolphin surfaced near them. He gestured at the remote, encasing it in a small sphere of ice. "Give the remote to Kracan—he'll bring it back to Madsen, who will take it far away. There, we'll have our mechanics safely dismantle it."

Chloe nodded, carefully placing the iced remote in the dolphin's open mouth—it closed its beak before diving back beneath the waters.

"What're we gonna do about that asshole?" Chloe asked, jerking her head at Bradley's body, floating amongst the waves.

"He will have judgment," Will said grimly, raising his arm again. A large swirling sphere of water encircled Bradley, and it sank beneath the waves. "Our people below will bring Prescott Senior to a secure prison."

Chloe managed to squint through the water, and saw several other Atlanteans taking the sphere with Bradley and swimming back into the depths.

"There's still Nathan, though," Chloe breathed, suddenly remembering that Victoria and him were still onboard.

"Quick, then. Onto the ship," Will commanded, and the two of them began to swim towards the  _Prescott_. Ahead, they saw several Atlanteans already beginning to climb the sides of the ship, brandishing spears, tridents, and swords at the soldiers left on the deck.

 _We're winning._ Chloe grinned at that thought, the sweet feeling of victory emboldening her, driving her forward with more energy than before. They'd gotten the remote—now all they had to do was grab Nathan, and the Prescott reign would be over.

* * *

Max hurriedly tried to shovel the remaining coals in the fireplace out of it as fast as she could while Kate quickly doused the heated rocks with water. The two had established a system; Max would try and take out the coals feeding the fires of the engine as fast as she could, while Kate would run back and forth from the storeroom and back to the engine room, throwing water onto the coals in an attempt to cool them down.

They took breaks when they couldn't bear the intense heat of the engine room, leaving the door open so the steam released from the coals would at least escape into the main room. They'd placed Carl and Tom back into the small storeroom that Kate and Max had originally been in, the both of them praying that Carl and Tom would stay asleep for the duration of the battle.

"How…many…coals…are there?!" Kate panted, as she came running back with another jug of water.

Max wiped her brow with the sleeve of her shirt—not that it mattered, considering it was soaked with sweat and steam anyway.

"The fire's…starting to die…down…Think I got…most of the coals," Max huffed, reaching the shovel back into the fireplace and shoving out another pile of coals.

"Need…a…break," Kate breathed, and Max just nodded before the two of them left the engine room, their clothes drenched with sweat and steam.

Just as Max opened her mouth to say something, they heard a loud boom of thunder, and the room seemed to shudder at its intensity; then the room suddenly shifted, and Max and Kate were thrown sideways, the two of them slamming into the wall just in between two cannons.

"Oh,  _shit—"_ Max managed to choke out as the both of them looked at the cannons on the opposite side rolling backwards towards them. Max glanced to the porthole next to her shoulder, and she saw another immense wave coming towards them—

"Kate—"

The wave slammed into the ship, sending them flying the other direction. Kate had caught the gist of what she'd been trying to say, and as the two hurtled through the air, Kate's hand firmly grasped onto Max's shirt, and she pulled the two of them into the storeroom just as all the cannons in the main room slammed into each other.

"Whew, that would've crushed—" Max started, before the ship tilted again.  _Are you fucking serious—_

Kate's expression was just as much in disbelief as hers was, and Max almost felt like laughing from the insanity of it all; the two of them were hurtled backwards, colliding into the door with the storeroom where Carl and Tom's unconscious bodies were on top of each other. The ship finally managed to right itself, and Kate and Max placed their hands on the walls of the small storeroom, trying to steady themselves.

"I can't believe they're still asleep," Max wheezed, one hand rubbing at her bruised shoulder.

Kate just nodded in response, as she bent forward, her hands on her knees, her breathing ragged and rough.

"I know you're gonna hate me for saying this," Kate breathed, "But we should see what happened to the engine room."

"Right, right, yeah," Max managed to say after a moment, and the two gingerly made their way out and back to the engine room.

They needn't have bothered to check anyway. The tumultuous waves had caused the coals in the open fireplace to fall out—and now the entire floor of the engine room was now covered with coals, some still glowing brightly.

"Well, at least no more coal in the fireplace," Max said, swallowing.

"So the engine's stopped. We  _did_  it, Max," Kate whispered, turning to her, her face bright.

"But now we have to see if Victoria and Chloe managed to get the remote," Max said, looking up at the ceiling above them; she could still hear the sounds of chaos above, shouts and screams—but she heard the sound of metal on metal as well.  _Swordfighting. The Atlanteans must be here._

Kate nodded in understanding. "You go up. I'll stay here and make sure Carl and Tom don't wake up."

Max reached forward, and the two friends hugged each other tightly for a brief moment, each grateful for the other's presence.

"I'll see you soon, Kate."

As Kate headed back to the small storeroom with Tom and Carl, Max sprinted down the length of the ship, until she saw a small flight of stairs leading up to the main deck. Swallowing, and praying that she wouldn't die in the fighting, Max burst through onto the surface, immediately getting pelted with freezing drops of rain as cold gales whipped around her.

Atlanteans and sailors were clashing on the deck, the humans with sharp, metal sabers, the Atlanteans with golden spears and tridents. The sound of metal on metal rang through the air, where the occasional boom of thunder roared over head, spikes of lightning illuminating the chaos around her. Max twisted and turned this way and that, trying to find  _blue hair_.

On the port side of the ship, Max saw Chloe pulling herself up over the railings, Will beside her. As the two found their footing on deck, Chloe and Max saw each other, Chloe's face breaking into a smile. Relief washed over Max's soul, and she took a few steps forward, toward the Atlantean who meant everything—

But then, as a clap of thunder resounded overhead, Max suddenly felt time seem to slow as the door to the captain's cabin burst open, the slam of the doors loud enough to catch the attention of everyone on deck.

Max turned, her heart freezing in her chest as she saw Nathan staggering from the cabin, his face bloody—just before the doors whipped closed, Max glimpsed Victoria lying immobile on the floor of the captain's cabin, the end of a sword plunged through her back, blood pooling beneath her, and a chill ran down Max's spine.

As she looked back up at Nathan, she saw him raising his gun—not at her, no, but across from the deck from her, to  _Chloe._

_No. No. No._

Max looked over at Chloe, to Will standing next to her, the same look of shock and realization on his face—both her and Will's eyes met for a brief instant as they both understood what was about to happen.

_Be a hero—for Chloe._

Sprinting across the deck as fast as she could, Max threw herself in front of the girl she loved just as a gunshot rang through the air.


	17. The End of an Era

**CHAPTER 16: THE END OF AN ERA**

_No. Oh no._

Max stopped breathing, feeling nothing but shock as she stared ahead at the man who stood in front of her.

_Will._

Will fell to his knees, and blood spurted onto the deck from the gunshot wound in the center of his chest.

Across the deck, Nathan burst out laughing, a cruel, sadistic sound that sent a vicious haze of fury over Max's vision, and she turned to look at him, seeing nothing but red—

Nathan just stood there, his jacket billowing in the wind, his gun pointed straight at her.

"Won't miss this time," he grinned.

Before any Atlantean on deck could understand what had just happened to their leader, before Max could react and push her and Chloe out of the way, the end of a sword suddenly went through Nathan's chest—straight through his heart, and his expression turned to shock for a split second before the gun slipped from his fingers, landing on the deck as his own blood began to stain his clothing.

Behind Nathan, Victoria Chase stood straight, one hand pressed tightly over the wound in her stomach, the other gripping the handle of the rapier that she viciously thrust further through Nathan's body.

As a flash of lightning struck from the heavens, illuminating her face for a split second with a startling ethereal glow, Victoria said in a low voice, her expression fierce and furious, "You missed my heart, dumbass."

With those final words, Victoria pulled the rapier backwards, letting Nathan's body collapse onto the ground before her fingers loosened on the sword's handle. Victoria staggered backwards, her back slamming against the door to the captain's cabin, and her blood smeared its frame as she slid down it, grimacing with pain.

_None of this can be real._

Max's thoughts were in disarray, in a chaotic tumult that mirrored the weather and reality around them.

She felt Chloe behind her, felt Chloe step forward, falling to her knees beside her father as he pulled himself to the railing, sitting against it for support as he pressed one hand against the bleeding wound in his chest.

 _Will. Will took the bullet,_ Max thought numbly.

This wasn't how heroes' tales were supposed to end.

And even as she looked around, saw Prescotts' men surrendering at the death of their leader, saw Kate come up from the hold and rush to Victoria's aid as she was slumped against the door, Max felt nothing but devastation as she saw Chloe's anguish as she looked at her father's pained and agonized expression.

Will looked up at Max then, his blue eyes gazing straight into her. "Max, here," he managed to say, coughing up a little blood.

Max knelt down next to Chloe, and she instinctively began to take out bandages from her bag— _what else can I do?_

As she reached forward to try to tend to Will's wounds, he used his free hand to cover hers, and she looked up, uncomprehending. Chloe opened her mouth to ask, but Will shook his head.

Will's pained smile was like a knife twisting into Max's gut. "Max, Chloe. I can feel it," he coughed, more blood spilling onto his chin, and Chloe gave a pained cry. "The bullet exploded into pieces on impact," Will panted. "I won't survive long."

"Just let me patch you up," Max whispered, but Will's free hand clamped down over hers more firmly.

"I won't survive long," Will repeated, trying to swallow, but another spasm of coughing wracked his chest and he took his hand away from Max's to press against the wound; Chloe reached forward, pressing her own trembling and shaking hands over Will's in an attempt to stem the blood flow.

"You two. Both of you. I'm proud of you," Will breathed, and Chloe stifled back a sob.

"Dad, you're gonna make it, it's gonna be okay," Chloe choked out, but Will shook his head again.

"Max. I was too hard on you, I see that now," Will panted, and Max felt her heart twist in her chest, and she began to shake her head— _he had every right to be angry_. Opening her mouth to respond, she paused when Will shook his head. "I saw you, Max. You were going to take the bullet for Chloe."

"Then why did you?" Max whispered, feeling nothing but despair sinking its claws into her chest.  _This was supposed to be a happy ending._   _And this isn't one._

Will gave a weak smile, a smile that did nothing to soften the anguish that the both of them felt right then.

"Because you two are the future for humanity, and Atlanteans," he said, his voice faint. "And," Will swallowed, shutting his eyes tightly as he tried to muster what strength he had left. "Make a better future—for yourselves, for the world."

"I need you, Dad," Chloe's voice broke, and she leaned forward, her face pressed into Will's shoulder; Max couldn't tell if it was rain or tears on Chloe's cheeks just then, but she had to resist the urge to cry right then and there too.  _Brave. Be brave._

Will turned his attention back to her, and Max swallowed, knowing that he was expecting an answer from her.

"I promise, sir."

He nodded, seemingly satisfied with her answer. "Take care of each other," Will said softly, closing his eyes—Chloe pulled away from his shoulder just as Will's hands went limp, falling to either side of him, and the unbridled sound of pain, of agony, of  _loss_ , tore from Chloe's throat.

" _Dad_ ," Chloe whispered, her voice raw with emotion as she leaned forward again, pressing her face into his shoulder as sobs wracked her entire body—Max swallowed back the lump in her throat, and as she wrapped her arms around Chloe's shaking form, she looked around them.

Above, the storms were beginning to fade, the dark, ominous clouds before fading away as sunlight poked through the gaps. On either side of the  _Prescott_ , Max spotted warships coming close, sailors on both throwing ropes onto the  _Prescott_. She looked over to see Victoria lying on the deck, Kate hovering over her, quickly ripping off strips from her cardigan to create makeshift bandages for the wound in Victoria's chest. Around them, Atlanteans were busy gathering the rest of the Prescott crew and tying them up.

No one paid any attention to Nathan's still body. For that, Max felt a grim sense of satisfaction, but a moment later, felt despair grip her heart again.

_We won. But at what price?_

On one of the warships, Max saw Lily and Warren Graham—the pair jumped over onto the  _Prescott_ , with Warren rushing over to Victoria and Lily hurriedly making her way to where Max and Chloe were.

As Lily made her way closer, Max met her gaze—and Lily skidded to a halt near them, noticing the hollow look in Max's eyes. Turning away for a moment, Lily placed a hand over her mouth, swallowing.

 _Too late, Lily._  A tinge of bitterness seeped into Max's heart right then, but then she regretted it.  _It's Nathan's fault, not Lily's. And he got what he deserved._

Lily took a deep breath before slowly kneeling down next to Chloe and Max. Her eyes went over Will's body, noting the bleeding wound in the middle of his chest.

She said nothing for a few moments, just listening to Chloe's weeping, before she softly asked Max, "Gunshot?"

Max just nodded.

"I'm sorry I didn't get here earlier," Lily said quietly, and at that, Chloe suddenly whipped around, her eyes filled with tears and unbridled rage.

"You fucking should have," Chloe snarled, pure fury and anguish in her voice. "You could've—"

"Chloe," Max interrupted. "Please," she added softly at the look of betrayal on Chloe's face; a moment later though, Chloe gritted her teeth and pressed her face back into her father's shoulder, saying nothing, her bloodied hands pressed tightly into fists.

"I'll go help Warren with Victoria," Lily murmured, standing up and quickly making her way to where Kate and Warren were helping Victoria slowly sit up, her chest heavily wrapped in Kate's makeshift bandages. Though her face was twisted with pain, Max saw Victoria say something through her teeth.

Chloe suddenly shifted under Max's arms, and instead curled up against Max's side, her face in the crook of Max's neck. A small whimper came from Chloe then as her hands pulled at Max's shirt, needing comfort and warmth.

"I'm sorry, Chloe," was all Max could whisper.

* * *

What happened after that was almost a blur in Max's mind. Later on, when she'd try to recall the aftermath of the battle, all she'd see in her mind's eye were a mixture and haze of emotions.

Kate managed to coax the memories from her, despite how much it pained her to do so.

The Atlanteans that were on deck of the  _Prescott_  came to both Max and Chloe; seeing their fallen admiral struck a chord through all of them, but one softly told Max that they needed to bring Will back to Atlantis for a proper send off. Understanding that her presence was an intrusion on Atlantean affairs, Max tried to get up and leave—but Chloe's hand was suddenly tightly gripping her own, and she refused to let Max go.

Unwilling to deny the daughter of their late admiral, the Atlanteans conceded to bringing Max with them to Atlantis. All of them had seen what Max had been willing to do—and what Max  _had_  done for the Atlanteans. She had gained their respect, but Max was only aware of the price of doing so.

Meanwhile, Warren quickly applied what emergency care he could to the gaping hole through Victoria's chest; thankfully, Kate's quick thinking had stemmed the blood flow just enough that Lily determined that Victoria would survive. Lily also declared it a feat of incredible endurance and strength that Victoria had removed the sword from her own body—and then gotten up and given Nathan a taste of his own medicine.

With what remaining strength she had, Victoria explained that her desire for vengeance and a strong amount of spite had kept her alive. " _No fucking Prescott can kill a Chase,"_  she'd reportedly spat as Kate and Warren helped her onto one of her warships, where Taylor and Courtney awaited her.

As one Atlantean came to Kate and explained the situation, she'd conveyed her understanding that the Atlanteans needed time to mourn—before any decisions could be made concerning the relations between humanity and the Atlantean race. After Will's funeral, the Atlantean said, would they contact the Marshes about Bradley's fate. Once Kate conveyed this to Victoria, who initially desired ending Bradley as she'd ended Nathan's life, conceded to handing Bradley's judgment to the Atlanteans. With that, the Atlanteans nodded, and bade farewell.

Though neither knew it, those decisions were but the preliminary steps toward building trust on both sides.

As Max, Chloe, and the rest of the Atlanteans descended beneath the sea to Atlantis, with Kate and her party looking on, Victoria managed to give one command before accepting painkillers—she ordered that Nathan and his ship to be engulfed in flames, obliterated and destroyed to nothing. Once they'd gathered the crew and all the remaining humans onto Victoria's warships, Taylor and Courtney placed the remaining bombs left in the hold onto the  _Prescott's_  deck, surrounding Nathan within a dense cluster of his own inventions. Later, Victoria would ensure that none would mourn for him, and neither burial nor services would be made in his name.

Once they'd returned to the warships, and were a safe distance away, Taylor gave the signal to unleash cannon fire on the ironclad, and soon, the  _Prescott_  was a fiery flame on the ocean waters.

Kate and her party returned to Arcadia Island, intent on ensuring Victoria's recovery. She and Victoria also waited patiently for word from Atlantis on Bradley's judgment.

Down in Atlantis, Bradley awaited for the decision of his fate in Atlantis' courts. When it was revealed that his son was dead, he'd flown into an intense rage—injuring most, if not all, of his overseers. However, that was but another charge against him, and in the eyes of the Atlanteans, they were intent on ensuring that someone would pay for the death of their late admiral and the harm for its people.

Bradley was sentenced to death, a slow one, by drowning.

Once Chloe and Max learned of his fate, Chloe had said but one word.

" _Good."_

And though Max said nothing, she thought the same.

During the interim from the battle and Bradley's sentence, Chloe had given Max back her compass—but when Max held it in her hands, she knew that all Chloe saw from it now was a reminder of that fateful day. Knowing that, Max had decided to leave the compass with Will, something that she believed and hoped would guide him wherever he was in the afterlife. Though she knew not what awaited beyond death, Max prayed that Chloe's father was at peace. For his sake, and Chloe's.

And soon after, preparations were made for Will's passing. Chloe had kept almost entirely silent since then, but at his funeral, she'd sobbed and cried, and Max could do nothing but hug her tightly in an attempt to hold her together. Though justice had been served to the Prescotts, Max still felt that the price for it had been unfair, imbalanced.

But she knew there was nothing she could do about it now. Fate had executed its plans for both humanity and the Atlanteans, and what mattered now was its plans for the future.

* * *

After the funeral, Max and Chloe headed back to Chloe's room—but Chloe stopped then, pausing for a moment before turning towards the pool room. She'd been silent the entire way back, and Max knew better than to say anything; Chloe needed to mourn, and just needed Max to  _be_  there for her.

 _Nothing I say will make Will come back, either_ , Max thought ruefully.

But as they entered the pool room, Max had to ask where they were going.

Chloe's voice was strangely hollow and almost empty as she responded, "Let's go back to our cave. I don't wanna be in Atlantis right now."

Max didn't argue.

And now the two were lying on a blanket on the sand, the sun shining down above them through the open ceiling.

Chloe was curled into Max's side, her face buried in the crook of Max's neck, her breathing soft against her skin. Max had one arm around her, the fingers of her free hand interlaced through Chloe's fingers. The two of them had laid there in silence, neither unwilling to break the quiet of the one place that was untainted by human or Atlantean hands.

By the time the sun no longer directly peered into the cave, Chloe finally whispered, "I hate this. I hate all of this."

Max swallowed, unsure of how to respond, but Chloe continued, her hand tightening around Max's.

"I hate humans. None of this would've happened if it weren't for them," Chloe said, her voice full of bitterness and resentment.

Max said nothing, just moving onto her side to fully wrap her arms around Chloe as Chloe pressed her face into Max's chest, her hands balling up the back of Max's shirt.

A choked sob came from Chloe, and her voice was raw with emotion as she spoke. "I hate this. I hate feeling like this. I hate thinking that I should hate you," she whispered, and Max tightened her hold around Chloe, tears coming to her eyes.

_I can't even imagine what Chloe must be going through right now._

" _Max,"_  Chloe whimpered. "Say something.  _Please."_

"I," Max started, but she swallowed, pulling herself together.  _Chloe needs me._

"I want you to know I'm always going to be here for you," Max whispered. "And I understand that you're angry, Chloe."

" _I don't want to be angry_!" Chloe almost snarled, her nails sinking through the fabric of Max's shirt and into her back.

"I know, Chloe, I know," Max said through gritted teeth, trying to ignore the sharp pains where Chloe's nails were digging into her skin. "And I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Chloe, I'm  _sorry."_

Max felt Chloe's tears wet the front of her shirt, felt Chloe's chest wracked with sobs, felt the knife that twisted in her chest with each of Chloe's pained cries. Burying her face in Chloe's blue hair, Max just kept her arms around Chloe as the girl in her arms cried, the noises of her despair and anguish filling the cave.

It was only some time later when Chloe's sobs subsided and her breathing became regular that Max realized that Chloe had fallen asleep in her arms—pulling away, she saw Chloe's tear-stained cheeks, and she bit her lip. Reaching one trembling hand forward, Max gently brushed away a stray strand of blue hair from Chloe's face as her heart twisted painfully in her chest.

" _Take care of each other."_

Resolve suddenly came to her, and Max steeled herselfas she remembered Will's last words to her and Chloe.

She gently eased herself downward so that she was face-to-face with the sleeping Atlantean; her heart pounded in her chest as she gazed at Chloe for a moment, seeing the dark bags underneath Chloe's eyes. Since the battle, she'd been restless, waking up at night and grasping for Max, crying and sobbing as Max held her tightly in her arms, tears in her own eyes as she watched Chloe's suffering. The night before the funeral, as Chloe's sobs eased down and she fell into a uneasy sleep, Max tried to figure out a way to ease Chloe's burdens as she gazed at the numerous worldly trinkets around Chloe's room.

Max knew that almost everything in Atlantis reminded Chloe of her father, but almost everything on Arcadia Island reminded Chloe of the Prescotts—and Max knew that neither place was where Chloe needed to be.

Gently shaking Chloe's shoulder, Max watched Chloe slowly opening her eyes, squinting in the dim light of the cave.

"Chloe, let's go."

Taking a moment to respond, Chloe finally whispered, "Go where?"

Reaching up and cupping Chloe's face in her hands, Max looked into Chloe's blue eyes; though they were still her favorite color, of the ocean, of the sky, Max no longer saw the light that made them alive—and she felt an even stronger determination to bring life back into them.

"Anywhere. Everywhere. Let's go explore the world," Max said, her voice gaining strength. "Let's just leave—leave Atlantis, leave Arcadia. Let's go, just the two of us."

Chloe just opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to comprehend the enormity of Max's suggestion.

"Just us?" she asked, her voice small.

"Just us."

Max gently leaned forward then, kissing Chloe with as much tenderness and love as possible; she felt Chloe's hand reaching up and tangling in her hair, and the two pressed themselves closer, feelings of need passing between them. They broke apart for a moment, Max rolling onto her back as Chloe hovered over her, her arms on either side of Max's head. They gazed at each other for a moment, while Max slowly reached up and wrapped her arms around Chloe's neck, before Chloe leaned down and gave a much more intimate, closer, deeper kiss than before.

Just as they were about to run out of breath, they broke apart, breathing hard as Chloe gently pressed her forehead against Max's. For the first time since the battle, Max saw a spark of life in Chloe's brilliant blue eyes, and her heart filled with emotion for the girl above her.

"Let's go," Chloe whispered.


	18. Epilogue: Remembrance

**EPILOGUE: REMEMBRANCE**

_The future of mankind and the Atlanteans changed after that pivotal day._

_Relations between the two races drastically improved with the combined leadership and forward thinking of both the Chases and the Marshes. Both were pivotal in promoting a human-Atlantean alliance; while the Chases oversaw the joint academic and technological advances between the two races, the Marshes ensured peace and equality between the two._

_The Chase family filled the power vacuum left behind by the Prescotts' abrupt end. Led by Victoria Chase, prodigal daughter of the family, academia on the island flourished as academies and institutions were revamped to promote a greater focus on the fine arts—using the funds from auctioning off all Prescott assets. Victoria herself garnered much respect from both the Atlanteans and Arcadians; many heard of her indomitable will and survival, and rumors began to spread that none could kill Victoria Chase save the devil himself._

_Through her determination, Victoria and her family turned Arcadia Island back to its original roots—an international center of academic and technological progress. The Chases were determined to forge another alliance with the Atlanteans in order to further their goal, and the Atlanteans were willing to reopen negotiations to facilitate peace. It was decided that in return for the Atlanteans dismantling the infamous artifact that controlled the air and seas, all joint inventions between the two races would be used for peace and prosperity, and never for war nor destruction. The Chases and the Marshes, led by Victoria and Kate, the de facto representatives of humanity, agreed to this condition, and the New Alliance Accords were signed._

_A new era of art and science bloomed between the two; it gave rise to a world renowned prestigious program, where human scientists would study in Atlantis and Atlantean engineers would work on Arcadia Island. Many humans applied for this prestigious honor—and only a few were accepted the first round…including Brooke Scott._

_Brooke had decided to return to Arcadia Island, determined to fix what she had wrought under the Prescotts' thumb. She and a team of Atlanteans descended to the sea floor, where she personally dismantled each and every bomb along the fault line. Though Madsen and his mechanics had dismantled the remote that activated them, it was well known that Brooke was adamant on undoing all that the Prescotts had wrought through her knowledge and expertise. "I have a debt to pay," was all Brooke would say when pressed on the matter._

_Once she'd done that, she rose through the ranks of academia astoundingly quickly, and soon enough, Brooke Scott was head of the most prestigious institution on Arcadia Island; now, however, her work contributes to the evolution of renewable energy, a tool that could be used for both races._

_Safe in knowing that Brooke was contributing to the betterment of mankind, Victoria sought out the rest of the people who helped on that fateful day. She awarded Hayden for his valor, offering him his own ship and crew. Ecstatic at the offer, Hayden quickly named his new ship, the Blackwell, and set off on his own journeys across the sea, intent on living the lives that the old Blackwell crew was never able to live._

_The Grahams, in thanks for assisting her recovery, were offered the ability to expand their medical practice. They leapt at the chance, and soon enough, medical advancements were made on Arcadia as well, eliminating rare diseases through vaccines and medications. Warren eventually took his mother's place as Dr. Graham, much to his excitement._

_However, Victoria ensured that the Marshes received their fair share of the credit as well, as she knew that relations between the Arcadians and the Atlanteans would never have gone as smoothly as they did without the assistance of the Marsh family. Victoria appointed Kate Marsh as her ambassador to Atlantis—and Kate finally got her wish to see Atlantis with her own eyes. Awed and astounded at its beauty, Kate cried tears of joy the first time she arrived at the great and magnificent kingdom._

_As ambassador, however, Kate accomplished many things and more. Tensions between the two races declined, as Kate taught both humans and Atlanteans the commonalities between the two, taught them coexistence through compassion and understanding. Both Atlanteans and humans traveled to the floating church to seek her advice and teachings, and there, the two races could convene in peace. The Marshes' church became a common meeting ground for the two races outside of universities, and soon, a small place where children from both races could meet and play and learn more about each other's worlds._

* * *

Taking a deep breath and rotating her wrist, Kate Marsh took her pen away from the parchment, looking down at the ink on its surface. The entire history of how the Atlanteans and humans had come together again was a long and arduous one; so many players constituted a thorough background on all.

_Kind of weird to write about myself, but…I did help._

Shaking her head, Kate checked the time on her watch.  _Oh, dear. Need to go send the kids off soon._

Standing up and shutting off the lamp on her desk, Kate turned and quickly left her room, descending the stairs as she made sure her bun was neatly in place.

It'd been many years since the Battle of the Seas, and Kate was determined to make sure it had its place in history. She knew that knowing this information—of how the Atlanteans and humans came together again in peace, and harmony because of two kindred spirits—was important for the future of the two races.

Down on the main floor, in front of the giant cross in the apse, Kate spotted one of her sisters telling a story to a crowd of children seated in the pews closest to them. All were staring, enraptured as Lynn threw bold gestures in the air—and Kate recognized that her sister was telling the story of the Battle of the Seas. Chuckling to herself, Kate quietly sat down in a pew and listened until Lynn finished her epic tale.

'Oooh's and 'aah's came afterward, and several of the children became excited, some of them brandishing imaginary swords and spears, some throwing gentle punches at their friends as they all eagerly recounted the epic battle.

What Kate loved the most, aside from the children's enthusiasm, was just the mere fact that Atlantean children and human children could come together so easily. The bright, vibrant, colorful heads of the Atlanteans clashed with the more mild hair colors of their human counterparts, but all were nonetheless jumping with energy as some of them began to repeat their favorite parts of the story.

"Alright, kids, it's time for you all to go home," Kate said, standing up from her pew and going to stand next to her sisters.

"Aww. Do we have to?" asked one small, green-haired Atlantean.

"It's almost sunset—your parents are waiting for you," Kate just chuckled, and Lynn let out a laugh.

"I'll let you take care of 'em," Lynn said lightly, and Kate just rolled her eyes as Lynn walked down the apse and towards the staircase, up to their rooms.

Kate gently herded the crowd of kids to the front entrance of the church, and most chatted animatedly about the story they'd just heard. Despite Kate's presence, these kids had long since visited the church for storytime—and the human kids hopped on to their rafts, while the Atlantean children dove into the marsh's waters.

A small smile came to Kate's face as she saw the children from both races happily waving goodbye to the other.  _Who would've thought I'd see this in my lifetime._

Once she'd made sure that all kids had either safely departed on a raft or in the water, Kate turned and entered the church again—only to run straight into a pair of children. Looking down at them both, her eyebrows raised, Kate recognized the two; Rose, a black-haired human child with a knack for trouble, and Lily, a white-haired Atlantean girl with a talent in drawing. The two reminded her so strongly of another pair…

"Kids, you should be heading back," Kate said sternly.

Lily pulled on Kate's sleeve, her eyes questioning.

"But we didn't hear the rest of the story," she said, her voice small. Kate couldn't help but notice that Lily's other hand nervously reached out and intertwined with Rose's.

"What do you mean?" Kate asked, kneeling down to their eye-level.

Rose spoke up. "But where did Max and Chloe go?"

"Yeah—Lynn just said they went somewhere," Lily said, nodding.

Kate laughed—what she realized most when recounting the tale that led up to the Battle of the Seas was that most children enjoyed the action scenes, rather than its buildup. Seeing a pair of children interested in Max and Chloe's fate warmed her heart a little, but Kate knew better than to start the tale then.

"That's a story for another time. I'll tell you next week, when you come back," Kate said, and the two groaned in response.

Rolling her eyes, Kate just stood up and gently prodded the two out of the church. "How about this? You come back tomorrow and I'll tell you about the adventures of Max and Chloe," Kate said lightly, and the two kids turned to her, faces bright with big grins.

"But you have to go home now," Kate added, and their faces turned to pouts.

Kate pulled the sternest face she could muster, and the two girls grumbled before turning to each other.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Lily," Rose said, and the Atlantean girl just nodded, squeezing her friend's hand.

"See you, Rose."

And with that, Rose jumped onto her own raft while Lily dove into the waters.

Kate stood at the entrance of the church for a while longer, watching Rose paddle back to shore, and she leaned against the doorframe for a moment.  _Rose and Lily._

Chuckling and shaking her head, Kate turned and headed back up to her room, looking down at the parchment, noting that the ink had dried.

Gently picking it up and placing it on top of another stack of papers, Kate slowly sat down in her chair, looking outside her window and to the waters ahead. Pursing her lips, she tapped her fingers on the desk, before making a decision and turning on the lamp on her desk.

Leaning back in her chair and reaching a hand down to one of the drawers in her desk, Kate eased it open before picking up the numerous envelopes within. Some were yellowed with age, and Kate gingerly placed them all on her desk. Picking up the oldest, its edges dulled and worn from the amount of times Kate had handled it, she gently eased the letter from it, holding the delicate paper in her hands.

When Max had come to her, telling her that she and Chloe were leaving, Kate had made the request that Max send her letters of her adventures—just to let her know that she and Chloe would be okay. Ever since then, every few months, Kate would receive letters from Max, and she'd kept every single one.

At first, Max's letters were…downcast.

_"I hope Chloe smiles again someday, Kate. I can see a part of her that's excited to see new things…but I know she still thinks about him."_

Several sketches of Chloe sitting forlornly on a rock, gazing into the distant valley of a city or a town, or of Chloe with her arms crossed as she leaned against a giant oak, came with Max's letters.

It would be another year or two before Max's letters gained a more positive tone.

_"I think Chloe's starting to…feel better. She laughed, like really laughed, today. I think it was good to get away from Arcadia and Atlantis for a while."_

Around this time, the Chase family revealed their newest technological marvel—the camera. From wherever Max had been, she'd picked it up…And soon after, photos started coming with Max's letters as well, and Kate truly got to see just what Max and Chloe were doing as they traveled the world together.

As Kate went through the envelopes, gently pulling photos from each, a soft smile came to her face as she looked at just how  _happy_  her two friends were.

Chloe, her arm around Max's waist, pressing a kiss to Max's cheek as Max held the camera above them.

Max and Chloe, their hands raised in thumbs-up, as the two of them posed at the peak of a mountaintop, clad in mountain gear.

A picture of Chloe and Hayden high-fiving on the deck of the new  _Blackwell,_ with Hayden sporting a grizzly beard, the two of them with wide grins.

A blurry photo of Max as, from what Kate could tell from the letter, the two of them ran from what seemed to be a colossal bear in the background.

Chuckling at the photos in her hands, Kate carefully placed them all back in their envelopes. She hadn't received a letter from Max for a while, but she knew that by now, the two could take care of themselves.  _No matter where they go, they always get into trouble…But at least they're together._

Glancing back up at the window, she noted that the sun had almost fully set below the horizon, its golden rays reflecting across the marsh's waters. Standing up, Kate gazed out her window for another moment as she thought of her two friends.

_Max and Chloe are out there, somewhere. And I'll see them again someday._

Her hand reaching up to the cross at her neck, Kate Marsh smiled softly. From afar, the small light in Kate's room turned off, and the sun set below the horizon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't believe it's all done. I never thought I'd write a fic that's 60k (?) words long. It's been a long ride, and I'm grateful to all of you who've stuck it out with me. 
> 
> I hope you guys found the ending to be...at least pretty good. Drop a review about your thoughts, if you can!
> 
> But really, thanks to everyone for reading, for kudos'ing, and for reviewing, especially. I hope to have more Pricefield!AUs out eventually, but as I said, I need a break from writing for now.
> 
> Thanks again, and see you all soon.


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